CRIME & COURTS

Man guilty in fatal Des Moines beating now eligible for parole

Grant Rodgers
grodgers@dmreg.com

A Des Moines man sentenced to serve 50 years in prison for throwing a single punch is now eligible for parole after an appeals court overturned his second-degree murder conviction.

Kent Tyler

Kent Anthony Tyler pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to a single charge of willful injury causing serious injury for his role in the beating death of Richard Daughenbaugh, 40.

Tyler, 21, was one of four men who faced first-degree murder charges for attacking and killing Daughenbaugh amid a gathering of teens and young adults near Wells Fargo Arena on Aug. 25, 2013.

Prosecutors argued at trial that Tyler, then 18, triggered the attack on Daughenbaugh when he punched the older man in the head and knocked him to the ground. Tyler's public defenders argued the single punch was thrown in self-defense, but jurors found him guilty of second-degree. The conviction carries a 50-year prison sentence, with a 35-year mandatory minimum before an inmate can be eligible for parole.

Richard Daughenbaugh

The Iowa Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in April 2015, ruling that one punch was not enough evidence for a murder conviction in the case. The Iowa Supreme Court in January ordered a new trial.

Tyler was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for the willful injury conviction as part of the new plea agreement. He will receive credit for the years he's already served.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said he disagrees with the appellate rulings. But the plea agreement still forced Tyler to admit hitting Daughenbaugh in open court.

Sarcone said there were no family members of the victim at the hearing earlier this month. Attempts to reach Daughenbaugh's daughter, who testified at his trial, were unsuccessful.

"Everybody’s different," Sarcone said. "Everybody reacts differently. I think they thought that things were resolved, and they aren’t yet."

Gary Dickey, an attorney who represented Tyler during his appeal, said he could not comment. Tyler's family also declined to speak publicly until after he is released.

Tyler told a judge at a sentencing hearing in 2014 that he should not be "held accountable for other peoples' actions."

"I was just protecting myself," Tyler said to District Court Judge Arthur Gamble before receiving the original 50-year sentence.

A large group of teens and young adults had gathered in a parking lot near the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge on the night Daughenbaugh was attacked. Witnesses who testified at trial said that Daughenbaugh was intoxicated, dancing and jostling people. Some witnesses claimed that there was a confrontation between Daughenbaugh and Tyler before the punch was thrown.

Prosecutors charged three other men with attacking and killing Daughenbaugh after he fell, including Tyler's half-brother, Le'Prese Williams, 24. The older brother was acquitted of a first-degree murder charge at trial after his attorney argued that an eyewitness who named him as one of the attackers was too drunk to be credible.

"Naturally, you'd think it feels great, but it's not over," Williams told a reporter as he was being released from the Polk County Jail. "My brother's locked up. He's alleged to have punched the man first, but that doesn't qualify for murder two. It's not over. It's good to be home, but we're still fighting for my brother."

Two other men accused in the death, James Shorter and Yarvon Russell, were found guilty of second-degree murder. The court of appeals has ordered new trials in each of their cases as well.