Police: Iowa City Man Arrested After Allegedly Burglarizing Residence

An Iowa City man was arrested early Friday morning after the woman whose house he allegedly stole from caught him in the act.

Police say Michael Phillip Howard, 57, of Iowa City was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary a class D felony following a short manhunt.

According to a police, at 12:08 a.m. they received a call of a burglary at 212 E. Bloomington St. A female resident reported that she had found an unknown man exiting her home with items taken from her house. She told police that she confronted the man, and that he dropped the laptop he was holding and fled. The woman described the burglar as an older black male wearing a red sweatshirt and a black hat, according to the release.

At this, police "flooded the area" with officers. At roughly 12:30 a.m., after receiving a tip from a witness, they allegedly found Howard wearing similar clothes as described by the woman hiding on a rear porch at 326 N. Linn Street. The woman later helped in identifying the burglar as Howard and some of the items from her residence he allegedly had with him at the time of his arrest, according to the release.

According to a criminal complaint, Howard appeared intoxicated and smelled of alcoholic beverages, and allegedly had to be forced to put his hands behinds his back to be handcuffed. He allegedly admitted to police that he had taken the items and said "that he just wants to go to prison because that is where he belongs."