Man Arrested Following 2010 Iowa City Robbery Pleads Guilty to Multiple Crimes

A former Cedar Falls man has pleaded guilty to robbing six Black Hawk County banks in 2008 and 2009.

Jay Michael Harkless, 26, was arrested while living in Iowa City in 2010.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported he entered six guilty pleas May 11 in Black Hawk County District Court, and that sentencing came later. Harkless is already serving a 20-year sentence for robberies in Johnson and Muscatine counties.

The Courier wrote:

Police said Harkless took money from five Cedar Falls banks and one Waterloo bank November 2008 and May 2009 after handing tellers a note demanding cash. He was captured after attempting to rob a rental shop in Iowa City in January 2010.

The rental shop in question was at . According to a KCRG article, at the time of his arrest, police said Harkless also confessed to robbing a West Bank and MidWestOne Bank in Iowa City the previous year.

During a search of Harkless’ residence at 840 Maggard St. Apt. 10, officers found items they believed linked him to 10 bank and credit union robberies in Iowa City, North Liberty, Cedar Falls, Waterloo and Muscatine, according to a news release.

Harkless confessed to all 11 of the robberies, police said.