DES MOINES, Iowa — The trial for the Des Moines teen accused of fatally shooting two people at Starts Right Here in January continued Thursday.
On Day 5 of the trial against Preston Walls, more experts took to the stand, this time highlighting alleged evidence of gang participation.
The court heard from both a medical examiner and a lead detective in the case on Thursday morning.
Des Moines Police Department detective Jeffrey George showed messages between Walls and some of his friends in the days leading up to the shooting. He emphasized that the messages indicated criminal street gang involvement for Walls as well as victims Gionni Dameron and Rashad Carr.
The victims' families have previously denied that Dameron and Carr were involved in any gangs.
"And then, at 11:26 a.m., Mr. Tukes specifically asks, 'Is Honcho there?' And that is very significant because Rashad Carr, his street name is Honcho, so he's asking if Rashad Carr is at school at this point. At which time, Mr. Walls replies both in the plural," George said.
In addition, he touched on the communication between Walls and Tukes moments leading up to the shooting.
"So, nine minutes before the shootings after Mr. Tukes had been in the Mullets parking lot, and after right after Mr. Walls had cut his ankle bracelet, he states 'OTW,' which is short for on the way," George said.
"This is a rivalry that's been going on since November 2021," Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek told Local 5 in March. "And the history of these gangs that reaches all the way back 20 years. The term in our industry for this type of gang activity is 'hybrid gang activity', where they might take some tips from some nationally known gangs, they might try and replicate what they see. But these are our community's kids."
Witnesses said that Walls was part of the Strap Gang, while Dameron and Carr were members of the OMB (Only My Brothers) Gang. This was also mentioned in earlier police documents obtained by Local 5.
Throughout the afternoon, multiple videos and pictures of Walls, Carr and Dameron with evidence of gang-related activity were shown, including self-filmed videos with guns.
One key piece of evidence that was brought up was a music video, which Detective George testified on.
"So there was indication that a 'diss' video was going to be dropped by OMB. That video was put out fully on Jan. 16 of 2023, so in that time period, the days leading up to Jan. 16, and particularly after Jan. 16, there was a lot of going back and forth on social media as far as gang rivalries," George said.
The prosecution is nearing the end of its witness list, and then the defense will start its questioning.
The trial will reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday.