10th teen pleads guilty in East High shootings

The 10th and final defendant in the fatal drive-by shooting at Des Moines East High School pleaded guilty Thursday. 

Octavio Lopez Sanchez Jr., 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury. He faces up to 70 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 7.  

Lopez Sanchez was 17 at the time of the shootings on March 7, 2022. Jose David Lopez, 15, was killed in the shooting, and Kemery Ortega and Jessica Lopez Torres were critically injured. They were part of a group of teens congregating outside the school when multiple gunshots were fired toward them from three vehicles driving past.  

Of the 10 defendants in the shootings, three pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and four pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Here is a summary of the dispositions: 

• Nyang Mai Chamdual, 16, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 18, 2025, after he turns 18. 
• Romeo Perdomo, 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime. 
• Alex Perdomo, 16, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and will be sentenced Oct. 17, 2024, when he turns 18. 
• Henry David Valladares Amaya, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing serious injury. He will be sentenced Aug. 24. 
• Daniel Hernandez, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing a serious injury. He will be sentenced Aug. 24. 
• Manuel De Jesus Buezo, 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury causing serious injury. He will be sentenced Aug. 24. 
• Gumaro Marquez-Jacobo, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact, one count of person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon, and one count of providing a pistol or revolver to a person under 21. He will be sentenced Aug. 24. 
• Braulio Damien Hernandez-Salas, 18, pleaded guilty to two charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.  
• Kevin Isidro Martinez, 17, pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. 

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant Polk County Attorneys Olu Salami and Jim Hathaway and retired Assistant County Attorney Tom Miller, with the legal assistance of Kelsey Hannam. The investigation was conducted by the Des Moines Police Department and was led by detectives Ryan Garrett and Pete Wilson.