Iowa Supreme Court recommends dismissal of charges against former city commissioner

A former Iowa City commission member may have three charges against him dismissed over a procedural technicality.

Eric Harris, 45, was previously charged with child endangermen t, an aggravated misdemeanor, and two serious misdemeanors for reckless use of fire and second-degree harassment.

The charges stemmed from a March 2023 incident where Harris allegedly used a blowtorch to light furniture and himself on fire while children were present. Harris was later removed from his position as a member of the Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission, though other members said it was because he was absent , not because of his arrest.

Harris was appointed to the commission in 2020 and was removed in November 2023.

The Iowa Supreme Court recently suggested that the child endangerment, second-degree harassment and reckless use of a firearm be dismissed due to a filing mishap.

More: Truth and Reconciliation Commission asks council to remove Eric Harris amid absences

Harris arrested two minutes before midnight

Harris was transported to the hospital after the initial disturbance in March 2023. Once medical personnel cleared Harris, police arrested him two minutes before midnight, at 11:58 p.m. on March 25, 2023. Harris was booked shortly before 12:30 a.m. on March 26 and had his initial appearance later that day.

Prosecutors then filed the trial information on May 10, 2023. The court's ruling said the parties agreed that "for speedy indictment purposes," the trial information was filed exactly 45 days after Harris' initial appearance.

Five days later, Harris' attorney filed a motion to dismiss, citing the March 25 arrest date as 46 days before the information was filed. A Johnson County District Court judge later denied that motion and Harris appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court.

More: Iowa City City Council removes Eric Harris from Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Trial information filed late, state Supreme Court says

The lone disagreement between prosecutors and Harris' attorney, the court said in its opinion, was whether the trial information was filed within the 45-day time limit, as the court requires. That decision hinged on "what event started the (45) day period."

The court ruled that the 45 day period began on the March 25 arrest date, not the next morning's initial appearance, citing precedent from the 2017 case of State v. Williams and the 2022 case of State v. Watson . In Williams , the court ruled that the 45-day period begins at the time of the arrest.

In Watson , the court ruled similarly, recommending dismissal after the court ruled trial information had not been filed within 45 days of Watson's "arrest." The court said the 45-day window started when citations were issued. The court denied the prosecutor's argument that Watson's initial appearance was the start of the 45-day period, as in Harris' case.

"The State’s trial information was not filed until May 10, the (46th) day after the police arrested Harris," Justice David May wrote for the unanimous majority. "So the trial information was untimely, Harris’s motion to dismiss should have been granted, and we must reverse and remand for dismissal."

Harris pleaded guilty to related felony charge

Harris was also charged with escape from custody by a felon after police said he removed his ankle monitor and attempted to board a Burlington Trailways bus to Chicago in September 2023.

Police say they were informed that Harris had cut his GPS monitor on Sept. 30. It last "pinged" at the Trailways Bus Station on Court Street in Iowa City. Later that day, authorities tracked Harris' GPS monitor to a trash can near the station.

Police contacted Harris through text and he allegedly told deputies that he knew he would be arrested soon.

As part of his plea, Harris agreed to spend one year in jail and pay a $430 fine.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa Supreme Court recommends dismissal of charges against former city commissioner