A Waterloo man who’s already in the Black Hawk County Jail in connection with burglaries at 12 churches in Cedar Falls is now facing more charges for burglaries at Iowa State University in Ames. I.S.U. Police Captain Aaron DeLashmutt says they’ve linked 46-year-old James Cowan to 38 burglaries on campus.
“This started back in July 2011 and it appeared he would just randomly pick academic buildings on campus and start walking through them and checking doors, prying any that weren’t (locked), mostly looking for cash or loose change,” DeLashmutt said. Investigators first identified Cowan as a suspect in October 2011.
“He was confronted by an officer, but we were unable to link him (to the robberies) at that time,” DeLashmutt said. “It wasn’t until a burglary in March where we found some blood on a napkin where we were able to link to Jame Cowan.”
Cowan was charged today with two counts of second degree burglary, one count of third degree burglary and one count of second degree criminal mischief. Cowan is also suspected in burglaries on the University of Northern Iowa campus.