Des Moines Shooter Found Guilty of Federal Robbery and Gun Charges

Federal Charges Brought Following Probationary Sentence in Polk County Court

DES MOINES, IA – Yesterday a federal jury convicted Darreon Earl Wright, age 25, of Des Moines, 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. Wright faces a sentence of up to 20 years on each of the robbery charges and a mandatory minimum term of consecutive imprisonment of 10 years, and up to life, on the firearm count. Wright was ordered to remain detained pending his sentencing in federal court.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the two-day trial, 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; however, Wright and his co-conspirator did not intend to sell the victim marijuana and, instead, planned to rob him. 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.

Wright was indicted in federal court in November 2020. The federal indictment followed a prosecution by the Polk County Attorney’s Office where Wright entered an Alford plea in Polk County District Court to Willful Injury, a Class D Felony. In September 2020, a Polk County judge sentenced Wright to a deferred judgment and three years’ probation.

Acting U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement.

The 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.