Plea Deal Reached in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Locker Room Theft

A Chicago man has reached a plea deal after being charged with stealing from Carvery-Hawkeye Arena during a women's gymnastics meet. 

According to The Daily Iowan, the deal reduced Carlos Scott Jr.'s initial seven counts of second-degree burglary to two counts with one count of second-degree theft. Scott pleaded not guilty on May 5 to the original seven counts but changed his plea to guilty on Friday. 

Scott faced a maximum of 70 years in prison for his initial charges. Each count of second-degree burglary carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, but the reduced charges combined carry a maximum sentence of 25 years.

The charges stem from a report the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety received on March 4, 2023, about items missing from the locker room that Iowa State was using in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

Scott was seen by video surveillance entering Carver during the Iowa/Iowa State women's gymnastics meet. Scott purchased a ticket for the meet and proceeded directly to the service elevator, down the service tunnel, and into the locker room area of the arena.

Scott was seen entering the ISU gymnastics locker room, the UI's women's basketball locker room and the UI gymnastics locker room. He was seen leaving the arena with a sweatshirt he was not wearing when he entered. Both UI gymnastics and ISU gymnastics teams reported $1,200 in cash, five gift cards totaling $130, a necklace, and AirPod Pros were stolen around this time. 

During its investigation, UIPD also discovered video surveillance of Scott stealing from the arena in February of 2023.