Man who failed to appear for November sentencing date arrested

Hunter
03/30/20
A North Liberty man who failed to appear for his sentencing date in November has been located and arrested.
19-year-old Rasean Yates of Savannah Drive entered a guilty plea last August in Johnson County Court.
He’s accused of assaulting a man, beating him into unconsciousness at the North Liberty Rec Center on July 18th. North liberty police say that Yates and 18-year-old Pacific Achiza of Alydar Drive can be seen on security video instigating the altercation, then punching the victim in the face several times. Yates is seen picking the victim up and slamming him headfirst into the pavement, then both men continued to punch the man in the face while he was lying unconscious.
Police say it took four to eight officers to arrest Yates and get him into the squad car. He’s accused of continuously threatening the officers and demanding to have his handcuffs removed so that he could fight them.
Both men were charged with Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury, a Class C Felony punishable by a prison term of up to ten years. Yates also faced additional charges of Interference with Official Acts and Interference with Official Acts causing bodily injury, which could have added another 25 months to his sentence.
Achiza appeared in court on November 26th, where the judge sentenced him to five years and issued a no-contact order between him and the victim through November 2024. Yates was due to be sentenced the next day but failed to appear.
Yates was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 3AM Monday and released within the hour.
The details of Yates’ plea deal have not been released. A new sentencing hearing has been set for May 4th.