Hunter
06/22/21
An Iowa City man is accused of showing up intoxicated at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment Saturday and assaulting her when she threatened to call police on him.
According to arrest reports, dispatch received a 9-1-1 call from someone at 11:15pm who reported hearing a woman at a Dodge Street apartment scream for someone to call the police. Arriving police saw a woman standing in the upstairs apartment and rang the bells. The woman came down the stairs to meet an officer and was reportedly crying.
She stated that her ex-boyfriend, who she was involved with for four years and lived with on and off for three of those years, came into her apartment and was intoxicated. The woman asked the ex, identified as 36-year-old David Rich of Summit Street, to leave several times but he refused. She threatened to call police, which reportedly enraged Rich. He is accused of ripping the phone out of her hand to prevent her from making the call. He then allegedly pushed her over a bed post, causing her to fall and scrape her knees.
Once police arrived, Rich reportedly fled the building out the back door, but was located later near the intersection of Dewey and Brown Streets. He allegedly admitted to getting into an argument with his ex but denied assaulting her in any way. He also reportedly admitted to taking her phone but not with the intent of denying her access to 911.
During their interaction with Rich, he was noticed with signs of intoxication including slurred speech, difficulty walking and keeping his balance, and had a strong odor of ingested alcohol. He agreed to a preliminary breath test, which showed his blood-alcohol content at .249 percent.
Rich was taken into custody and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault causing Injury, Obstruction of Emergency Communications, and Public Intoxication. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to a maximum 14 months in jail.
