Two men are facing decades in prison after their conviction in the execution-style murders of three Des Moines, Iowa teens they robbed of their video game consoles and cell phones.
23-year-old Daishawn Gills and 21-year-old Emmanuel Totaye Jr. both were charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the January 2020 shooting deaths of brothers 19-year-old DeVonte Swanks and 16-year-old Malachi Swanks, along with their friend, 15-year-old Thayne Wright.
A third man charged in the case, 18-year-old Leontreal Jones, reached a deal with prosecutors before the trial and testified against Gills and Totaye.
On Monday, after a three-week trial, jurors found Gills guilty of all three murder charges, while Totaye was convicted of the lesser offense of second-degree murder. Both were convicted of robbery.
At sentencing, to be scheduled at a later date, Gills faces a mandatory life sentence for each first-degree murder charge. The penalty for second-degree murder is 50 years, including a mandatory minimum of 35 years, which can run concurrently or consecutively. The robbery charge carries a maximum 25-year sentence, with 17½ years mandatory.
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Over the course of the trial, prosecutors laid out their case that Totaye, Gills and Jones had been hanging out with the three teens at the Swanks’ home, and had attempted unsuccessfully to conduct another robbery with them. Jones testified that Totaye and Gills then got into a fight. It was about a loan Malachi Swanks had failed to repay. That’s when they decided to rob the three teens and kill them to prevent them from reporting it.
Jones struggled when he took the witness stand on April 12, mumbling and frequently contradicting himself. When defense attorney Ben Bergmann asked him, “You can’t even seem to find the truth about telling the truth, can you?” Jones agreed.
Jones said he took the stolen goods to Gills’ car. Gills and Totaye then moved the teens into a closet and shot them. He also testified that before Gills and Totaye left the house, Gills went back in with a shotgun to make sure the teens were dead.
Bergmann, one of Totaye’s attorneys, pointed out during cross-examination that Jones’ social media handle refers to him as a killer, and unsuccessfully sought to enter evidence of what he said was his “propensity for fighting.” Attorney Amy Kepes, representing Gills, likewise attacked Jones’ inconsistencies and pressed him on his account of what happened.
“While your friends, and a 15-year-old that you don’t even know, are still alive, you walk downstairs, you grab some bags (of stolen property), you go outside and close the door, you sit in the car and wait?” she asked.
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Jones said he had.
The trial began April 4, and the jury began deliberating April 21. On Friday, jurors told Judge Celine Gogerty they had had a verdict on one defendant but were hung up on the second. Gogerty sent them home, and they reached their verdict not long after resuming deliberations Monday.
Parents for both defendants attended the hearing, and Gills’ mother cried quietly as the verdicts were read. More than a dozen relatives of the three victims also were present and exchanged hugs with prosecutors after the verdict. They declined via a county victim services employee to comment.
Attorney Alfredo Parrish, representing Totaye, indicated his client will be filing motions challenging the verdict. In particular over the difference between his convictions for second-degree murder and Gills’ for first-degree murder.
“That’s an inconsistent verdict, so they’re probably going to have to revisit that,” Parrish said after the hearing.
Gills’ attorneys declined to comment.
Prosecutor Dan Voogt in a statement thanked the jury for its work and didn’t address the differing murder convictions.
“We are pleased with the verdicts,” he said. “We appreciate the time and effort the jury expended in reviewing the evidence and working to a resolution.”
As for Jones, the trial concluded the cooperation he promised as part of his plea deal. In a hearing Thursday, he is expected to plead guilty to two charges. The charges are first-degree robbery, carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years each.
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