Iowa City Police Investigating Arson Incident at Westwinds Drive Apartment Building

Iowa City police officers are looking for more information on a fire they believe was set intentionally on Westwinds Drive last week.

According to an Iowa City Police media release, yesterday police received a report of a fire that had been set in the stairwell of an apartment at 2653 Westwinds Drive. The fire had actually occurred on Aug. 3 at around 6:30 p.m. according to the witness report. The complainant told officers that the fire was contained to the carpeting on the stairs and no call was made to either the police or the fire department at the time.

As members of the Iowa City Police and Iowa City Fire Departments have interviewed more witnesses since then, they have discovered that some people in the area observed a teen-aged black male wearing a blue shirt running from the area of the building shortly before the damage from the fire was discovered, according to the release.

Investigators are requesting assistance from the public in identifying this young man.  The Iowa City Area CrimeStoppers are also offering a reward of up to $1000 for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information about this crime is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at 358-TIPS (8477). All calls are confidential and the caller's identity does not need to be revealed to collect a reward.