Colorful Iowa City resident arrested again
Hunter
09/11/20
An Iowa City resident with a colorful past record has been arrested again after being discharged from Mercy Hospital Thursday night.
According to police, 52-year-old Gary Leon Duffel II was being discharged from the facility just after 11pm and allegedly was threatening hospital staff. After doctors and security told Duffel it was time to leave, he reportedly took a rock and threw it at a computer screen.
While he was being escorted out, Duffel allegedly began fighting with multiple security guards and a physician. He is accused of striking a guard in the right side of the face, and kicking a doctor in the leg. They were able to hold Duffel down until authorities arrived, but he kept fighting with staff, tensing up and thrashing around on the ground. The doctor advised that he had pain and redness on the leg as a result of the fracas, while the guard had pain and slight swelling to his face.
Duffel was charged with assault on persons in certain occupations causing bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury, and trespass causing damage. If convicted on all counts, Duffel could be sentenced to four years in prison.
Some of the more interesting incidents involving Duffel over the years include cutting down the flag outside the Iowa City VFW hall in 2018, urinating on the front porch of then-Iowa City City Councilor Mike Wright in 2010, and toppling the Irving Weber statue at the corner of Iowa Avenue and Linn Street in 2007, breaking off the arm and causing an estimated $12,000 in damages.