CRIME & COURTS

Appeals court overturns Des Moines man's murder conviction

Grant Rodgers
grodgers@dmreg.com
Kent Tyler

The Iowa Court of Appeals has overturned the murder conviction of a Des Moines man who played a role in a fatal 2013 beating at a party along the Des Moines River near Wells Fargo Arena.

Kent Anthony Tyler III, 20, was convicted of second-degree murder in the Aug. 24, 2013, death of Richard Daughenbaugh, 40. Witnesses at a December 2013 trial testified that Tyler punched Daughenbaugh once after Daughenbaugh drove his pickup truck into a parking lot where dozens of young people were throwing a late-night party.

Witnesses said Tyler knocked Daughenbaugh to the ground after he grabbed Tyler's arm. After the punch, a group attacked and "stomped" Daughenbaugh, leaving him with fatal injuries. But there was no evidence that Tyler participated in the attack after his punch.

At sentencing hearing, Tyler told a judge he shouldn't be sent to prison for the beating. He received a 50-year sentence that he's serving at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

"I was protecting myself. ... I am not responsible for other people's actions," Tyler said.

PREVIOUSLY:

A split panel of three appeals court judges ruled Monday that one punch didn't rise to the level of a murder conviction in Tyler's case. The judges ordered the case sent back to district court and for an acquittal to be entered on the charge. Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said prosecutors will likely seek review by the Iowa Supreme Court.

"We respectfully but strongly disagree with the decision," he said. "We think the jury got it right."

At trial, prosecutors argued that Tyler could be found guilty under several theories, including aiding and abetting and joint criminal conduct. Tyler likely knew people in the group would jump on Daughenbaugh after the punch, even if he didn't participate in the fatal attack, prosecutors argued.

Two men, James Shorter and Yarvon Russell, both 20, were found guilty of second-degree murder in Daughenbaugh's death at a trial months later.

But in the majority ruling, Judge Amanda Potterfield wrote that there's no evidence Tyler meant the lone punch to signal an attack. There was also no evidence of any organized plan for the assault, she wrote.

"Tyler's single punch is not sufficient to give rise to a reasonable inference that he wished others to subsequently initiate a deadly assault," Potterfield wrote. "The state has failed to satisfy its burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyler knowingly advised or encouraged anyone to initiate a deadly assault on Daughenbaugh."

In a dissenting opinion, Chief Judge David Danilson wrote that Tyler's first punch was a call to arms. One witness, Breanna Billings, testified that she saw a crowd surrounding Daughenbaugh and sensed the coming fight, Danilson noted. From the atmosphere at the party, Tyler also likely realized what would happen after he struck, he wrote.

"All that was required to incite or encourage the crowds was the first blow — much like a call to the cavalry to 'charge,' " Danilson wrote. "In fact, stepping aside while others began to assault Daughenbaugh without any effort by Tyler to discourage or stop the vicious attack may have also have encouraged the onslaught."

An investigation after Daughenbaugh's 1:57 a.m. death showed that the Des Moines man had methamphetamine in his system. He was dancing and having fun with the teens before the attack, witnesses said at trial.

Tyler's half-brother, Le'Prese Williams, 22, also was charged with first-degree murder in the death. But Williams was acquitted at trial because of unconvincing eyewitness testimony. In an interview as he was released from the Polk County Jail, Williams said Tyler's appeal would be a top priority for the family.

"It's good to be home, but we're still fighting for my brother," he said.