Transient with lengthy criminal history arrested again after incident at winter emergency shelter

Transient with lengthy criminal history arrested again after incident at winter emergency shelter
Lang
12/06/18

A local transient with a lengthy criminal history is back in jail after an incident at Iowa City’s emergency winter shelter.

Iowa City Police were called to the shelter on South Clinton Street a little before 11 p.m. Wednesday after a subject who had been trespassed from the shelter, Gary Duffel II, 50, was refusing to leave.

When confronted by responding officers, Duffel allegedly took out his phone and called 911 in front of them. He then allegedly called again after walking away from the officers, despite being told not to call unless it was an emergency.

Duffel was arrested and charged with Public Intoxication – 3rd or Subsequent Offense, False Use of Emergency Communications and Criminal Trespassing. If convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to more than two years in jail.

Duffel has been in-and-out of jail many times over the last several years, including knocking over the Irving Weber statue on Iowa Avenue in 2007, causing an estimated $12,000 in damages.