A day after two Waterloo brothers are found guilty of first-degree murder in a woman’s shooting death, another pair of siblings charged in the same case are asking for separate trials outside of Black Hawk County. 26-year-old Shawn Washington and 21-year-old Joseph Washington are also charged with first-degree murder in last October’s’ fatal shooting of Thyanna Parsons of Waterloo. Their trial is scheduled to begin next month. The Washington brothers appeared in court yesterday to ask for separate trials and a change of venue because of publicity surrounding the previous trial. On Wednesday, 22-year-old Ricardious Spates and 28-year-old Christopher Spates were convicted of murder after a month-long trial. Also Wednesday, 56-year-old Paul Ackerman of Waterloo was sentenced to serve two months in jail after pleading guilty to being an accessory to the crime. Two other Waterloo men are facing murder charges in the case, but both have agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges. 18-year-old Dorondis Cooper and 27-year-old Damean Spates — both cousins of the spates brothers — will be given lighter sentences in exchange for the testimony in the Spates brothers trial.
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