Hunter
08/07/25
An Iowa City woman was arrested Monday evening after a traffic stop for failure to wear a seat belt determined she gave a false identity when cited earlier in the year for the same violation.
41-year-old Tiffany Smith was operating a 2013 Chrysler Town & County minivan at approximately 8:51pm, heading westbound on Highway 6 East. She was stopped due to clearly not wearing a safety belt. Upon contact, Smith reportedly had put her seatbelt on.
Smith was asked for an ID, and provided an Iowa driver’s license with another name on it. The officer then recognized Smith as being the same driver he cited in May for a seat belt violation. A check of driving records showed the subject was convicted of the seat belt violation on June 29th, and that Smith had signed the other person’s name on the ticket.
An odor of raw marijuana was allegedly observed coming from Smith’s vehicle, and a probable cause search was conducted. That’s when the officer noted several items with Smith’s name on them, including an Iowa ID. A baggie of marijuana was allegedly discovered, and Smith continued to provide the other person’s name, date of birth, and Social Security number. Previous mugshots matching Smith identified her by her true identity.
Smith reportedly acknowledged post-Miranda that she lied about her identity to avoid fines.
She was charged with Forgery, Tampering with Records, Malicious Prosecution, a Controlled Substance violation, Providing False ID information, no valid Driver’s License, and Failure to use Safety Belt. If convicted on all counts, Smith could be sentenced to over nine years in prison.