A Des Moines man who reportedly threw the first punch in a fight that ultimately led to another man’s death has gotten a ruling of “acquittal” from the Iowa Court of Appeals.
The fight happened in a downtown Des Moines parking lot, in the summer of 2013. Up to 70 teens and young adults were there. Witnesses say 40-year-old Richard Daughenbaugh was drunk and high on meth when he arrived and started drinking and dancing with the group. Party-goers testified Daughenbaugh touched Kent Anthony Tyler III on the arm and Tyler hit Daughenbaugh with a punch that landed him on the ground, then walked away. Witnesses say others in the crowd then beat Daughenbaugh.
Tyler was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison, but the Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled there was “not sufficient evidence to support the conviction.”
The Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of another Des Moines man who was found guilty of shooting a man to death in a car near the Drake University campus. The gun used in the 2009 crime has never been found. The appeals court had tossed out the original murder conviction against Matthew Grady. He was found guilty after a second trial in 2013 and the Court of Appeals has ruled the case against Grady was “overwhelming” and his second conviction stands.