Darrell L. Jones, 23, of Fort Dodge, has gone through the gamut of judicial proceedings in this case.

Jones was held in the Webster County Jail starting on June 24, 2020, on a material witness warrant until he was charged 139 days later on Nov. 10, 2020. He was charged with two counts of second-degree murder (a Class B felony) and one count of felon in posession of a firearm (a Class D felony) after a deadly shooting in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood on June 16, 2020.

Two Fort Dodge men, 25-year-old Jamael Cox and 47-year-old Tyrone Cunningham, were killed in a volley of bullets in the early morning hours of June 16. Two others, Marissa Andrews, 21, of Fort Dodge, and Jayne Barton, 30, of Wesley, were injured but survived.

After a five-month investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies, five men, including Jones, were charged on Nov. 10, 2020.

In mid-April, First Assistant Webster County Attorney Ryan Baldridge moved to have the charges dismissed against Jones, saying that through depositions, the state learned information that led it to believe the charges could not be proven at trial by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Baldridge then charged Jones with two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon (a Class C felony), along with one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

Jones pleaded not guilty to the weapons charges on April 19 and his trial is scheduled for June 29.

On Wednesday, Jones’ defense attorney filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the state violated Jones’ rights to a speedy trial and due process.

Defense attorney Stanley Roush wrote that the material witness proceeding was clearly a “sham undertaken in bad faith with the true purpose of commencing punishment of the defendant for later allegations.”

The state has a pending request that the 139-day material witness hold be converted to a period of involuntary servitude which allows the defendant to earn the mandatory statutory witness fees, but has them withheld based upon the possibility of a future restitution obligation, Roush wrote. This “leaves no doubt that the state arrested the defendant on June 24, 2020, with the purpose and intent to commence punishment for the later allegations of criminality.”

Jones remained in custody after the state dismissed the material witness hold and charged him with the second-degree murder charges on Nov. 10, 2020, until those charges were dropped on April 12, 2021, or another 153 days in custody. In total, Jones had been in custody for 292 days at that point.

Roush argues that because Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure requires that an indictment be found against a defendant within 45 days of arrest and because an indictment was not found within 45 days of Jones’ arrest on June 24, 2020, the charges against him should be dismissed.

A hearing on this motion to dismiss is set for June 10.

If Jones’ motion to dismiss fails, he has already filed a notice of his intent to rely upon the defense of self defense and defense of others.

Two counts of second-degree murder remain for the other four men charged:

• James Davis Jr., 35, of Fort Dodge.

• Michael J. Shivers, 55, of Eagle Grove.

• Jeremiha R. Hatten, 22, of Fort Dodge.

Another defendant, Michael J. Wells, 33, of Fort Dodge, also saw his two second-degree murder charges dismissed earlier this week. He was also then charged with two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon.

Davis Jr., Shivers and Wells also face an additional charge of felon in possession of a firearm.