String of home invasions, sexual assaults in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids leads to arrest
Iowa City Police have arrested a North Liberty man in connection with a string of sexual assaults in Iowa City and Cedar Falls following a months-long investigation.
Asante Walker-Garcia Adams, 25, was apprehended on May 19 by Waterloo police following reports of two violent home invasions a month apart in Cedar Falls. He was also connected to a violent crime in Iowa City last fall, which led to two counts of second-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree robbery and one count of first-degree burglary.
Walker-Garcia Adams' alleged home invasions in Cedar Falls led to two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of first-degree burglary crimes that took place in the spring, according to Waterloo police.
Walker-Garcia Adams first arrived on authorities' radar after allegedly forcing his way into a home in the 600 block of Lucas Street in Iowa City around 11:30 p.m. Sept. 6, 2022, punching a person in the face while brandishing a knife, telling the resident, “Don’t move or I will kill you.”
He allegedly sexually assaulted the resident, threatening them again when they resisted before taking items from the home and fleeing.
Walker-Garcia Adams’ DNA was recovered from a sexual assault kit conducted shortly after the incident and was matched to him when police later detained him, the criminal complaint says.
Iowa City police released Ring doorbell camera footage the morning after the Iowa City incident, and the complaint claims that text messages retrieved between Walker-Garcia Adams and his wife indicate she confronted him, sending a news article with the doorbell footage to Walker-Garcia Adams.
“So that’s a random guy with dreads, similar eyes, similar height? Happened same time u were there?” police say she texted Walker-Garcia Adams.
Phone location data collected by police also indicates that Walker-Garcia Adams was in the area of the crime on Sept. 6, though they could not apprehend the suspect.
Walker-Garcia Adams remained at large until Waterloo pieced together evidence following a pair of spring break-ins.
Walker-Garcia Adams arrested for assaulting victims in Cedar Falls home invasions
Two separate home invasions in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area put local authorities on the hunt, calling on previous police reports and DNA to capture their suspect.
Waterloo police responded to a distress call on March 10 for a violent break-in. A resident said they awoke around 5 a.m. and found an unknown man on top of them, allegedly holding a knife to a young child's throat and saying he would stab the child if they called for help.
The complaint alleges that Walker-Garcia Adams took the resident into the living room and sexually assaulted them. Police collected DNA from the scene and later matched it to Walker-Garcia Adams.
On April 10, Walker-Garcia Adams is also alleged to have broken into a Cedar Falls residence and sexually assaulted the resident in the early morning. The complaint says the resident described the perpetrator as a Black male with dreads. Police identified Walker-Garcia Adams in the apartment complex area around the time of the crime.
Walker-Garcia Adams was tagged as the perpetrator through a recent police mugshot by the resident. DNA collected from the Iowa City assault and subsequent assaults were also matched to Walker-Garcia Adams, according to the complaint filed in Black Hawk County.
Walker-Garcia Adams faces four charges for sexual assault and three for burglary, each Class “B” felonies, while the robbery charge is a Class “C” felony. Class “B” felonies are punishable by a maximum of 25 years per charge. Class “C” felonies are punishable by no more than 10 years in prison and a fine.
Just four days before his initial arrest, Walker-Garcia Adams appeared in the Johnson County Courthouse and pled guilty to driving without a valid license.
Five days after the first assault in Cedar Falls, Walker-Garcia Adams was pulled over and charged with driving while barred. The case was dismissed.
Walker-Garcia Adams is being held on $400,000 bail at the Black Hawk County jail.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on Twitter @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: North Liberty man charged with sexual assault, burglary and robbery
