Michael J. Shivers, 56, of Eagle Grove, is on trial for two counts of second-degree murder and one count of possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.

Lt. Don McLaren, with the Fort Dodge Police Department, was dispatched to the 900 block of 10th Avenue Southwest for a report of shots fired around 4:45 a.m. on June 16, 2020. When he arrived, the scene looked nothing like it had just moments before.

Witnesses have testified that there was a large gathering of friends and relatives of the Shivers family, who were celebrating the life of a loved one who had recently passed away.

“When I first pulled up … it was pretty quiet,” McLaren said.. “There really wasn’t a bunch of people. Not a whole lot going on.”

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
First Assistant Webster County Attorney Ryan Baldridge gestures to an aerial view of the scene where a shoot out occured in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood in June 2020, during the murder trial of Michael Shivers on Thursday afternoon.

After getting out of his squad car, McLaren then saw a victim lying in the middle of the road. The victim was 25-year-old Jamael Cox, and he had been shot.

“I ran over to him, checked on him, checked his pulse,” McLaren testified. “Then I ran back to the squad car to grab my medical kit.”

When medics arrived moments later, McLaren — then a sergeant — worked to secure the scene and called FDPD investigators in to help. His supervisor, Lt. Dennis Mernka, was handling another scene a few blocks away.

Mernka testified Thursday afternoon that as he responded to the shooting, he witnessed a vehicle drift over into the other lane of traffic and crash into a curb. He didn’t initially know that that vehicle had anything to do with the shooting, the lieutenant said.

The jury watched Mernka’s dash cam and body cam footage from that night and saw him approach the vehicle.

The driver was the second victim of the shooting — 47-year-old Tyrone Cunningham. Cunningham had been shot through a major artery in his leg. Mernka said he knew it was a major artery because of the amount of blood Cunningham had lost.

Mernka called for support and medics, and, along with another officer, pulled Cunningham out of the driver’s seat of the vehicle, laid him on the ground and began CPR.

“My primary focus was emergency medical treatment,” Mernka said.

Thursday had started with the continuing testimony of Michael Wells, the defendant’s son. On Wednesday, Wells had testified that there was some unease at the Shivers residence that morning and his father told him that someone who had “pulled a gun” on a family member had been seen driving around the area.

Thursday, Wells testified that Michael Shivers had him walk down the block because he thought he saw a suspicious car parked there. He said that after returning and talking with a few others, he was going to look for his uncle, DarTonya “Doc” Shivers.

“I knew he was sober and he probably would attempt to defuse any type of situation,” Wells said.

That’s when the first shot happened.

Prior to taking cover, Wells testified, he saw that the first shot was fired by Michael Shivers, who was holding a rifle. He said the rifle was pointing east.

Wells admitted to firing the handgun he had that night, and said friend Darrell Jones was also shooting a weapon. Wells said that prior to the first shot from Michael Shivers, he didn’t remember hearing any gunshots from the nearby park or down the street.

Wells also admitted to later tossing the gun he used in a shed at the back of the property because as a felon, he couldn’t legally possess a firearm.

Assistant Iowa Attorney General Doug Hammerand asked Wells about his deception with investigators by not telling them everything he knew about the case..

“I didn’t want to get anybody in trouble,” Wells said.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Christopher Kragnes questioned Wells on the plea deal Wells had made with the prosecution for weapons charges..

Wells had previously also been charged with two counts of second-degree murder for this incident, but those charges were dismissed in May. In July, he pleaded guilty to one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and one count of felon in possession of a firearm, both Class D felonies.

“You also indicated that you perhaps hadn’t been truthful in some of your prior statements because you didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, is that correct?” Kragnes asked Wells. “When the state says that they haven’t made any promises as to what a recommendation for sentencing will be for you, do you think that means you’ve got to do a good job here today?”

Wells said that he was there to testify to the truth of what happened from his perspective.

Kragnes noted that Wells had testified that the first shot came from the Bushmaster AR-15 held by Michael Shivers.

Kragnes noted that during a deposition in July 2020, Wells didn’t say that Michael Shivers had a gun that night.

“Would you have ever fired your gun if your dad hadn’t fired that rifle?” Hammerand later asked Wells.

“No,” Wells answered.

While answering additional questions from Kragnes, Wells admitted that he was concerned about the defense attorney “coming after him in court.”

“I don’t want to see my dad go away for the rest of his life,” Wells said.

A reluctant witness, Deion Shivers took the witness stand in the afternoon. Deion Shivers is also Michael Shivers’ son. He testified that he didn’t want to be in court and that he had to be subpoenaed by the prosecution.

Deion Shivers admitted to bringing the Bushmaster AR-15 that night, but said it wasn’t planned — he just kept it in the trunk of the car he drove that night.

At one point, he took the rifle out of the car.

“I’m sure I got it out and showed it off, being proud,” Deion Shivers said.

He also testified that the rifle didn’t have a magazine in it, that the magazine was somewhere in the trunk and that he kept ammunition scattered around the vehicle.

At one point, Deion Shivers said, people started saying “Get the f—- down or get inside.”

Hammerand asked him what he initially thought was happening.

“A fight,” Deion Shivers said. “A fistfight.”

Instead, there were “a whole bunch of bangs.” Deion Shivers said he froze, took cover and then ran inside the house to process what had happened. When he was inside, people were trying to wash their hands, he said, possibly to remove gunshot residue.

Deion Shivers testified that he saw his father holding the rifle during the shooting, but didn’t know how he got it.

The jury also heard from Iowa State Patrol Trooper Mark Anderson, who had helped process and photograph the scene to create an accurate and to-scale digital 3D model of the crime scene.

Anderson testified that there had been about 30 to 40 placards around the crime scene indicating spent shell casings.

“Can you tell us which one came first?” Kragnes asked.

“No,” Anderson answered.

The last witness the jury heard from on Thursday was Michael Tate, a criminalist and firearms expert at the State Crime Lab in Des Moines. Tate testified that upon examining the spent shell casings and the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, he identified that many of the shell casings’ markings matched the rifling of the firearm.

Follow Kelby Wingert on Twitter at @KelbyWingert for live coverage.

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