UPDATE: Jury convicts Harris of second-degree murder in Drake-area shooting

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.