A former Muscatine police officer fired for alleged criminal conduct has been fired by another city after a drug arrest led to his past conduct being revealed.
Municipal records indicate Juan D. Lopez worked as a Muscatine police officer from August 2008 to December 2011, when he was fired by the city. According to the recent findings of an administrative law judge, city records tied to Lopez’s pre-discipline hearing and termination notice state that Lopez was fired for dishonesty during a police investigation, attempting to interfere with a police investigation, and engaging in some unspecified form of criminal conduct.
In October 2021, Lopez was hired by the City of Iowa City as a full-time construction inspector. As part of his job, he was tasked with inspecting pavement, sewer lines and other projects to ensure they were completed to the city’s specifications.
Court records indicate Lopez was arrested at work on Dec. 1, 2023, and was charged with felony possession of cocaine with intent to deliver. Police alleged that during the course of an ongoing narcotics investigation, a U.S. Postal Service inspector intercepted a package sent to Lopez’s apartment. According to police, the names of the purported sender and recipient of the package were aliases known to be used by Lopez, and the package contained 490 grams of cocaine.
Police then obtained search warrants for Lopez’s apartment and vehicles and allegedly found six firearms, several boxes of ammunition, two digital scales covered in drug residue, and numerous packaging materials consistent with drug distribution.
When Lopez’s supervisors learned of the arrest, they questioned him and, according to Iowa City officials, Lopez said he did not know why he was arrested. When questioned further, he allegedly acknowledged engaging in some form of illegal activity about 10 years ago, but stated he no longer did so.
According to state records, Lopez admitted that he intentionally omitted from his job application any mention of his prior employment as a Muscatine police officer and asserted that he had no knowledge of any drugs mailed to his apartment.
On Dec. 12, 2023, Lopez was fired for allegedly failing to disclose his work with Muscatine police on his job application, engaging in conduct that could reflect unfavorably on the city, and keeping a firearm in his vehicle while it was parked on city property.
Several weeks later, Johnson County prosecutors agreed to drop the felony drug charge against Lopez in exchange for a guilty plea on a charge of failing to have a tax stamp for the drugs in question. He was fined $1,025, received a five-year suspended prison sentence and was placed on probation for two years.
Speaking to the Iowa Capital Dispatch on Wednesday, Lopez declined to comment on his arrest or his past employment with the Muscatine Police Department.
After he was fired by Iowa City, Lopez filed for unemployment and collected $3,492 in benefits. The city appealed the decision to grant Lopez benefits and the matter went to a hearing before Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth A. Johnson. In a recent decision, Johnson ruled Lopez was ineligible for benefits.
“Unlike many separations involving dishonesty, this case does not require a credibility determination,” Johnson said in her ruling. “(Lopez) admits he intentionally omitted his employment with the Muscatine Police Department from his employment application, and he admits he brought a firearm onto city property. By omitting his prior employment, (he) misrepresented his background and his character to the City of Iowa City.”
That omission, Johnson said, prevented officials in Iowa City from contacting the Muscatine police and learning of the circumstances surrounding his discharge in 2011. Lopez’s conduct, Johnson stated, had “breached the employer’s trust beyond repair” and had endangered the general public.
Lopez is obligated to repay the $3,492 in jobless benefits already collected, Johnson ruled.
