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Crime Stoppers reward keeps climbing

$7,000 for info on double homicide

Webster County Crime Stoppers announced on Friday it has received an additional $1,000 to go toward a reward for information on Tuesday’s early morning shooting, which led to the death of two men and injured two women.

The donation was made anonymously. The total reward now sits at $7,000.

The reward is being offered for information leading to the identification, apprehension and prosecution of anyone involved in the shooting, which occurred the 900 block of 10th Avenue Southwest.

Jamael Cox, 25, and Tyrone Cunningham, 47, were killed around 4:45 a.m. Marissa Andrews, 21, and Jayne Bartrom, 30, were injured. All of the bystanders except Bartrom, of Wesley, were from Fort Dodge.

Cox, found lying in the street, suffered a gunshot wound to the upper torso, Fort Dodge police reported.

Shortly after finding the first three, police found Cunningham unresponsive in a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of South 15th Street and Sixth Avenue South after he managed to flee the scene, shot in the leg.

Both Cunningham and Cox were pronounced dead at the scenes. Andrews was in stable condition before being transferred to a Des Moines hospital. Bartrom was treated at UnityPoint – Trinity Regional Medical Center before being released Tuesday.

The initial $5,000 reward offered was funded by an anonymous donor, long before the shooting happened, with this specific purpose in mind, said John Bruner, president of the Crime Stoppers executive committee.

Bruner said that reward amounts are determined by partners at the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department and the Webster County Attorney’s Office. In this case, their recommendation was unanimous.

Typically, he said a reward this high is volunteered by anonymous donors to solve cold cases. Because of their charter, Crime Stoppers is prohibited from offering a reward more than $1,000, but can act as a conduit for private citizens or businesses wishing to offer such a higher reward.

Since 2001, Webster County Crime Stoppers has paid out $170,000 in rewards and made 1,800 arrests thanks to collaboration between citizens and law enforcement.

Anyone with information on Tuesday’s shooting, including any surveillance videos, photographs and/or video should contact Webster County Crime Stoppers and/or the Fort Dodge Police Department.

Tips can be provided anonymously to Webster County Crime Stoppers by calling 515-574-1444 or by texting “LEC” followed by the tip to 274637. A system is in place to deliver rewards without disclosing identity.

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