UPDATE: Harris sentenced to 60 years in prison for 2022 shooting

UPDATE: 12/13/2024

A Des Moines man was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Friday for a fatal shooting near Drake University in 2022.

Andrew Jerome Harris, 45, must serve 35 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. He was convicted in August of second-degree murder for the shooting of Tyrell Lavell Grimes. He also was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and going armed with intent.

Assistant County Attorney Olu Salami called the crime “senseless” and argued that Mr. Harris should serve the sentences consecutively, because the charges were separate acts.

District Judge Celene Gogerty agreed. “It makes no sense that a man in his 40s felt slightly disrespected” after an argument and then left to get a gun.  

“These were separate actions. You chose to get a firearm, and chose to come back, and you chose to kill Mr. Grimes. Those actions justify consecutive sentences,” she said.

The parents of the victim -- Theresa Grimes and Charles Fountain of Glendale, Ariz. – gave a victim impact statement read in court by victim advocate Rees Barrett.

“The day you took my son’s life, you took my life as well. We have a hole in our heart that will never heal,” they wrote. “I want you to think about what you have done every day as you sit in that cell.”

Mr. Harris apologized to Ms. Grimes. “I wish you didn’t have to lose a child. I know that is hard. I pray for you every day, for your comfort.”

Mr. Harris had two trials on the charges. Judge Gogerty denied a defense motion for a third trial on Friday.

UPDATE: Aug. 28, 2024

A Polk County jury convicted Andrew Jerome Harris for the second time for the shooting of Tyrell Lavell Grimes in 2022.

The jury deliberated for about four hours Wednesday before returning a guilty verdict of second-degree murder.

Harris was convicted of first-degree murder in November 2023, but District Judge Lawrence McLellan ordered in February 2024 that Mr. Harris get a new trial. The judge said the court had erred during the original trial by excluding a statement that Mr. Harris said Mr. Grimes had made to him.

Mr. Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 15. Second-degree murder carries a sentence of 50 years in prison.

Assistant County Attorneys Olu Salami and Thomas Tolbert served as prosecutors in the second trial, with assistance from Kayla McKee. 

Originally Published Nov. 17, 2023

A Polk County jury convicted a Des Moines man of first-degree murder Friday in the shooting of Tyrell Lavell Grimes last year. 

Mr. Grimes, 39, was shot twice near the 2400 block of University Avenue on Aug. 19, 2022. Evidence indicated that Grimes and Andrew Jerome Harris, 44, argued outside Rico’s at Drake bar and grill, and then Harris left the scene in his vehicle. According to video evidence and witness testimony, Mr. Harris then returned to the area about eight minutes later to confront Mr. Grimes. 

Mr. Harris initially told police he was not at the scene of the shooting. He later said the shooting was in self-defense because he believed Grimes posed a threat to him.  

Mr. Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 13. First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant County Attorneys Olu Salami and Karli Mays, with assistance from Kayla McKee. Detective Chase Lohnes and other officers from the Des Moines Police Department conducted the investigation.