Police arrest third teen in Iowa City armed robbery

Iowa City police have arrested a third teenager in connection with an armed robbery at the Creekside Market in February that left a clerk with injuries after police say she was held at knife point.

Dantreil Lovell Ware, 18, of Iowa City, is now in custody on charges of first-degree robbery, armed with intent and assault with a dangerous weapon. Two co-defendants, Jackie J. Lane and Daveon Curry, were arrested in March, and a warrant for Ware's arrest was issued at that time.

According to police, the men collaborated in a robbery at the Creekside Market, 2601 Highway 6 East in Iowa City, on Feb. 22. Officers were called to the store about 11 p.m. after a clerk said a man entered the business, jumped over the counter and grabbed her from behind in a choke hold, according to a criminal complaint.

Lane is accused of holding a knife against the victim's neck and telling her she had “five seconds to get the money or I am going to slit your throat wide open,” according to the complaint.

The victim, who suffered injuries in the attack, complied with the demands, and the suspect fled, according to police. The robbery was caught on surveillance cameras, and officers reviewing the footage recognized one of the suspects from a previous interaction.

Lane is accused of jumping over the counter, brandishing the knife and threatening the clerk's life. Curry is accused of acting as a lookout in exchange for money – about $40, according to police.

Ware is accused of entering the store and standing in as a decoy to distract the clerk so Lane could sneak up on her, police reported.

The men got away with several hundred dollars in cash, according to police, and Ware's co-defendants have admitted to officers that they went into the store to steal.

Several of Ware's acquaintances and a family member identified him from the surveillance video, and police suspected he fled the area to the Chicago region, according to a complaint.

Ware, who has a previous robbery conviction, is being held in the Johnson County Jail in lieu of a $30,000 cash-only bond. Lane is being held on a $115,800 bond, and Curry is being held on a $70,000 bond.

First-degree robbery is a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Going armed with intent and assault with a dangerous weapon also are felonies,  punishable by no more than five years in prison.