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Hatten gets probation

Prison sentence is suspended

Jeremiha Hatten

One of the men who was once staring down two counts of second-degree murder for a June 2020 deadly shooting has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, earning a suspended prison sentence and probation.

Jeremiha R. Hatten, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of going armed with intent, a Class D felony.

On Tuesday, he was sentenced by District Court Judge Angela Doyle to five years in prison, suspended, and two years probation, as well as a $750 fine and criminal surcharge.

Hatten was arrested in November 2020, following a months-long investigation into a shooting that left two men dead and two women injured in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood on June 16, 2020. He, along with four other men, were charged with two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of 25-year-old Jamael Cox and 47-year-old Tyrone Cunningham.

As the investigation continued, the murder charges against Hatten and three of the other men were dropped, and they were charged with felony weapons charges for the incident.

Michael J. Shivers, 57, of Eagle Grove, was convicted in October 2021 for the two murders and sentenced to a minimum of 70 years in prison.

The others charged in relation to the shooting are:

• James C. Davis Jr.: intimidation with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

• Darrell L. Jones: intimidation with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

• Michael J. Wells: intimidation with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Davis is scheduled to go to trial in Webster County District Court in May.

Jones pleaded guilty to his charges in June 2021, and was scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 3, but failed to appear. A warrant for his arrest has been issued.

Wells pleaded guilty to his two charges in November 2021, and was sentenced to two five-year suspended sentences, as well as two years of probation for each count.

Hatten and Wells both testified during Shivers’ October 2021 trial.

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