Des Moines Apartment Shooter Sentenced to 183 Months in Federal Prison

DES MOINES, Iowa – On January 21, 2022, United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose sentenced Darreon Earl Wright, age 25, of Des Moines, to 183 months in prison for conspiracy to interfere with commerce through robbery; interference and attempted interference with commerce through robbery; and possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, announced United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal. Wright was ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow his prison term.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the two-day federal trial held in September 2021, shortly before 9:00 p.m. on February 19, 2020, Wright and his co-conspirator lured the victim to an apartment complex in Des Moines under the false promise of selling the victim marijuana. Upon the victim’s arrival at the apartment complex, Wright’s co-conspirator led the victim to an enclosed stairwell within the apartment complex where Wright was waiting with a loaded gun to ambush and rob the victim of the $6,900 in cash he brought to purchase the marijuana. When the victim entered the enclosed stairwell, Wright’s co-conspirator grabbed the victim, and Wright shot the victim two times—once in the arm, and once in the chest. Wright fled the shooting scene with his pistol. The victim survived.

This investigation was conducted by the Des Moines Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Section. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.