Iowa City man faces attempted murder charges in stabbing

Iowa City Police on Friday arrested an Iowa City man in connection with a stabbing near downtown Tuesday night.

Raymond Lee Spears, 52, also known as “Dirty Red,” faces attempted murder charges in connection with the stabbing, which happened at about 10:30 p.m. June 1, near the intersection of Court and Linn streets.

Both Spears and the victim, whose name was not released, are transients, police  said. It appears the two did not know each other before the events on June 1, and that they met that night, Iowa City Police Investigator Mike Smithey said.

The victim, who had multiple stab wounds in the back and is still recovering at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, knew Spears' nickname and told it to police after the stabbing. An officer familiar with the  transient population tracked Spears down that way, Smithey said.

Spears' hat was located on the ground in the area where the victim described the attack. Spears admitted to police that he was in an altercation with another male but denied stabbing him, police said.  The victim positively identified Spears as the person who stabbed him. The two were seen together on the surveillance video of a nearby business about two hours before the stabbing. Spears is see again on the video from that same business, without his hat, about 20 minutes after the attack, police said.

Attempted murder is a class B felony. Spears remains in the Johnson County Jail on $50,000 bond.