Jury convicts man of first-degree murder in hotel slaying

A Polk County jury convicted a Des Moines man of first-degree murder on Friday for breaking into a hotel room and killing Sayvon Propps a year ago.

Joshua Ryan Carmody, 32, was also convicted of first-degree burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date. The jury deliberated less than an hour before returning the verdict Friday. The trial started Monday.

Mr. Propps, 30, and Danielle Looney arrived at the Ramada Inn, 1810 Army Post Road, at 3:51 a.m. on April 10, 2024. Mr. Carmody arrived at the hotel at 4:15 a.m. Video evidence showed that he kicked in the door and entered Ms. Looney’s hotel room at 4:25 a.m.

Seven seconds later, Mr. Propps staggered out of the room and collapsed in the hallway, the video showed. Mr. Carmody was shot 11 times during the incident.

Ms. Looney testified that Mr. Carmody charged at Mr. Propps, who fired at the defendant. She said she was in an on-and-off relationship with Mr. Carmody for a year. She also told the jury that the defendant had called and messaged her several times the day before the incident and was upset she was in a relationship with Mr. Propps.

The defendant was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant County Attorneys Olu Salami and Bradley Kincade, with assistance from Ankit Pal, Lindsay Scott, and Chelsea Armbrecht. The investigation was led by Detective Spencer Taylor and Jeffrey George of the Des Moines Police Department.