A suspect is now jailed in last year’s shooting of 19-year-old Brandyn Preston at a party in Fort Dodge. Twenty-six-year-old Derrick McElroy of Fort Dodge has been charged with first-degree murder and was being held in the Webster County Jail.
McElroy will make an initial appearance in Webster County Magistrate Court today. Preston was shot and critically injured while attending an outdoor gathering in a Fort Dodge neighborhood on May 8th, 2011. He was first taken to a Fort Dodge hospital and later transported to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines for further treatment.
On January 22nd of this year, Preston died at his mother’s home in Tampa, Florida, after his release from the hospital. An autopsy determined he died as a result of the injuries sustained in the shooting.
During the past 14 months, investigators with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assisted detectives with the Fort Dodge Police and Webster County Sheriff Departments collecting evidence, information and leads in the case leading to the arrest of McElroy.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City