Des Moines man sentenced to 25 years in prison for baseball-bat attack

A Des Moines man was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison Tuesday for attempting to kill another man with a baseball bat, leaving him with life-threatening injuries. 

Joshua Jordan Crouch, 34, was convicted of attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury to Mario Zamora Yepez. A jury found Mr. Crouch guilty of the two charges in September.

According to testimony and evidence, Mr. Crouch had stopped at Tequila’s Liquor, 1434 Des Moines St., after attending an Iowa Cubs game on April 14, 2023. Surveillance video showed that Mr. Zamora entered the parking lot and parked his car sideways next to Mr. Crouch’s GMC Yukon.

While the two men talked, Mr. Crouch went to the back of the Yukon and grabbed a wooden bat. He then swung it and struck Mr. Zamora in the head. The video then showed the defendant enter the vehicle, and it was driven away while the victim lay on the ground.    

The jury found the defendant guilty despite his claim that he was acting in self-defense.

At the time of disposition, Assistant County Attorney Kevin Bell argued that the defendant should face consecutive prison sentences totaling 35 years. 

Bell said the defendant struck a person he didn’t know and left Mr. Zamora behind without calling law enforcement.

“Without life-saving procedures by a brain surgeon, he was going to die,” Bell said.

“He does not deserve mercy. No mercy was shown to Mario Zamora Yepez.” 

Mr. Zamora died May 3, 2024, after falling from a ladder. He was 37.

District Judge David Nelmark agreed with the defense that the sentences should run concurrently, for a total of 25 years in prison. Mr. Crouch must serve a minimum of 17½ years in prison.  

The judge said the punishment was sufficient to protect the public, and the two charges were not distinct acts. “While terrible, it was one act, one swing,” he said.

Mr. Crouch spoke to the court and apologized to the victim’s family. “I did not mean for it to happen that way,” he said.  

The victim’s sister, Elizabeth Zamora, gave a statement via video to the court directed at the defendant.

“I hope during jail, you can think of the damage you caused,” she said. “We are not going to have a happy Christmas this year.”

The case was prosecuted with the assistance of Kayla McKee and Megan Peak. The investigation was led by Detective Lucas Harden of the Des Moines Police Department.