Lang
4/6/25
Allegedly abandoning a 75-year-old woman at Walmart while stealing her car has led to an Iowa City man’s arrest.
68-year-old Keith Bell of Shannon Drive was booked into the Johnson County Jail at 11:30 Saturday morning. Iowa City Police say Bell had the woman drive him to Walmart on Highway 1 West on the afternoon of February 26th, then asked her to go inside and buy a cellphone charger for him. Bell allegedly claimed to be cold, so he asked the woman to leave the car running. While the woman was inside the store, Bell reportedly drove off in the 2012 Chevy Cruze, which also contained the woman’s iPhone 13 Pro Max. The car was later found abandoned in the median of Interstate 80 near Williamsburg.
Bell is now charged with 2nd and 4th Degree Theft Against an Older Individual. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 12 years in prison.