On October 22nd, 2016, at 5:35 p.m., Dubuque Police responded to 2340 Central Avenue, Apartment 1, on the report of a robbery that had just occurred.
Upon arrival, officers met with the alleged victim, John E. Kirkpatrick, 76, of that address. Kirkpatrick told officers two masked men entered his apartment, displayed a gun, and robbed him of $40,000 worth of precious coins.
During the investigation, Kirkpatrick confessed that he fabricated the report and had actually sold the coins. This admission was corroborated by an investigator who confirmed $24,000 in coins had been sold by Kirkpatrick to The Coin Shop in Dubuque.
Kirkpatrick was issued a summons for filing a False Report to a Public Safety Entity. Since the reported offense of Robbery is a felony, the charge filed against Kirkpatrick is a serious misdemeanor, punishable by a fine between $315 and $1,875, and incarceration up to 1 year.
As with any criminal case, the charges filed are allegations and any suspects are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law. If you have any information on this incident or others, please call the Dubuque Police Department at 563-589-4415 or Crime Stoppers at 800-747-0117 or 563-588-0714 (if the information leads to an arrest, the caller is eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000). You can also submit tips anonymously online at www.cityofdubuque.org/police or through the MyDBQ smartphone app available at www.cityofdubuque.org/MyDBQ.