Hunter
06/29/20
An Iowa City Transient was booked into the Johnson County Jail early Monday on warrants stemming from a traffic incident earlier this month.
According to police, 35-year-old James Joy was involved in a domestic incident the morning of June 9th and tried to avoid police contact. He allegedly drove away at a high rate of speed in a reckless manner. Police say he was operating too fast for conditions, as it was pouring rain at the time .His Dodge Caravan crashed into the rear of another vehicle and also knocked down a traffic light at the intersection of First Avenue and Court Street at 12:20pm.
After the collision, Joy reportedly ran from the scene and didn’t return. The driver of the vehicle he hit sustained an injury, as did the passenger in Joy’s vehicle.
A check of Joy’s driving record showed his driving privileges suspended, and no insurance information was provided by the owner of the van.
Joy faces a laundry list of charges, including Eluding, interference with official acts, failure to provide financial responsibility, reckless driving, driving while license suspended, failure to stop in a safe distance, and leaving the scene of an accident. He also faces OWI, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia charges from a separate incident. If convicted on all charges, Joy could be sentenced to over seven years in prison.
