Lang
11/14/20
A construction worker faces charges that he stole almost $20,000 in merchandise from an Iowa City store he’d been helping remodel.
Iowa City Police say 25-year-old Tyree Jeffries of Burlington had been doing remodeling work on the U.S. Cellular store on Highway 1 West in June. His job was to pick up debris from inside the store and take it to the dumpster behind the building. While behind the building, Jeffries allegedly entered a storeroom where new versions of phones and tablets were kept. Sometime between June 1st and June 2nd he allegedly took 24 phones, tablets and iPads.
An investigation determined that on June 2nd Jeffries posted a video to Facebook showing all of the stolen items and advertising them as for sale. A search warrant of Jeffrey’s Facebook records shows multiple conversations with potential buyers about the merchandise, with the descriptions matching the models of the items stolen from U.S. Cellular. He also told potential buyers service was through U.S. Cellular. The total value of the stolen items was over $19,000.
Jeffries was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 3:15 Friday afternoon and charged with 1st Degree Theft. If convicted, he faces a maximum of ten years in prison.
