IOWA CITY — An Illinois man has been arrested in connection with a 2015 theft at an Iowa City bar.
According to an Iowa City police criminal complaint, on Dec. 6, 2015, 23-year-old Rashai M. Pendelton, of Rock Island, Ill. and his accomplices entered Brothers Bar & Grill in downtown Iowa City through an unlocked backdoor. Police said while employees were working inside, Pendelton and another man entered a restricted area and stole four backpacks belonging to employees.
Pendelton and his accomplices left the bar, but attempted to come back and were told to leave by an employee who saw them. Authorities said Pendleton and his accomplices took at least two credit cards from the backpacks before tossing them in a trash can.
Police said within an hour of the burglary, Pendleton and his accomplices used one of the stolen credit cards to buy a gaming system at a Wal-Mart in Davenport. Another suspect tried to purchase another gaming system with a second stolen credit card, but it was declined, police said.
Police said Pendelton was captured on video surveillance systems. He was interviewed by a Bettendorf police officer about an unrelated credit card case and admitted going into Brothers, but refused to name his accomplices, police said.
Pendelton said that he found the credit card on the floor in the bar, but police said video evidence refuted those claims, according to the criminal complaint.
Pendleton was arrested April 6 and faces one count of attempted burglary, an aggravated misdemeanor.
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