DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines man was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison for a fatal 2022 shooting, according to the Polk County Attorney's Office.
45-year-old Andrew Jerome Harris will serve at least 35 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. The sentencing comes over two years after Harris shot and killed Tyrell Lavell Grimes outside a restaurant near Drake University.
A jury found Harris guilty on three charges this past August: second-degree murder, going armed with intent and possessing a firearm as a felon.
Assistant County Attorney Olu Salami argued Harris should serve the sentences consecutively because the charges were separate acts. District Judge Celene Gogerty agreed with the assertion.
"These were separate actions. You chose to get a firearm, and chose to come back, and you chose to kill Mr. Grimes. Those actions justify consecutive sentences,” she said.
In a victim impact statement, Grimes' parents said in part, “The day you took my son’s life, you took my life as well. We have a hole in our heart that will never heal. I want you to think about what you have done every day as you sit in that cell."
Harris apologized to Grimes during his sentencing, saying, "I wish you didn't have to lose a child... I pray for you every day, for your comfort."
Harris was initially convicted of first-degree murder in November 2023, but was later granted a new trial. Gogerty denied his defense's request for a third trial.