DES MOINES – A fatal drive-by shooting at Des Moines East High School in 2022 has handed long prison sentences to the teens involved in the crime.
Daniel Hernandez, 19, was sentenced to 60 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing a serious injury.
Henry David Valladares Amaya, 19, was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing serious injury.
Manuel De Jesus Buezo, 18, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing serious injury.
Gumaro Marquez-Jacobo, 19, was sentenced to a four-year suspended sentence. He had pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact, one count of person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon, and one count of providing a pistol or revolver to a person under 21.
Valladares Amaya, Hernandez, and Buezo were all juveniles at the time of the shooting.
In the March 7, 2022, shooting, Jose Lopez, 15, was killed, and Kemery Ortega and Jessica Lopez Torres were critically injured. They were part of a group of teens congregating outside the school when multiple gunshots were fired toward them from three vehicles driving past.
Of the 10 teens charged in the shooting, three pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and four pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Here is a summary of the dispositions:
- Nyang Mai Chamdual, 16, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 18, 2025, after he turns 18.
- Romeo Perdomo, 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime.
- Alex Perdomo, 16, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and will be sentenced Oct. 17, 2024, when he turns 18.
- Octavio Lopez Sanchez Jr., 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury. He faces 70 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 7.
- Braulio Damien Hernandez-Salas, 18, pleaded guilty to two charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
- Kevin Isidro Martinez, 17, pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant Polk County Attorneys Tom Miller, Olu Salami, and Jim Hathaway, with the legal assistance of Kelsey Hannam. The investigation was conducted by the Des Moines Police Department and was led by detectives Ryan Garrett and Pete Wilson.
