Hunter
10/11/19
An Iowa City man who has a string of shoplifting charges on his record was caught in the act again Tuesday and faces multiple charges.
36-year-old Joseph Pospishil was found in possession of a 4 Loko alcoholic beverage outside the South Gilbert Street Kum & Go at around 2pm. He was walking around in public with the beverage and was told to pour it out, but instead threw it at the convenience store building.
Staff reported that earlier in the day, Pospishil had stolen a hot dog, then returned to walk off with three candy bars and a bag of chips.
Further search of Pospishil found more than one open bottle of alcohol on his person. He reportedly had strong signs of intoxication, including stumbling over his words and repeating the same question over and over again. Pospishil walked away from the arresting officer, ignoring commands to stop, and when grabbed tried to pull away.
The value of shoplifted items was under $15. It was not determined if Pospishil had taken the alcohol from the Kum and Go.
He was charged with open container, 5th degree theft, public intoxication and interference with official acts. Those charges carry a maximum jail sentence of 90 days.
Pospishil was most recently arrested in August for drinking outside the East Burlington Kum & Go and allegedly stealing a bottle of malt liquor, using profanity and yelling at officers in the parking lot. He was charged with disorderly conduct, public intox and 5th degree theft in that incident.
Previous to that, he’s accused of “dining and dashing” from Pagliai’s Pizza in April, leaving a bill totaling a little over $18. Some of his more unique arrests include taking items from a Kum & Go in Coralville and Iowa City, an Iowa City Casey’s, and from the Waterfront Drive HyVee where he allegedly drank a bottle of whiskey without paying for it and claimed he had “diplomatic immunity.” He also allegedly tried to urinate in the kitchen of the downtown Iowa City Chipotle and was thwarted, ending up doing the deed instead on a public mailbox near Clinton Street.
In all, over 30 incidents involving Pospishil were found during a search on Iowa Courts.