Gazette Daily News Briefing, June 13
This Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, June 13.
It's going to be warmer and windier on Tuesday. According to the National Weather Service, it will be partly sunny with a high near 84 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area on Tuesday. On Tuesday night it will be partly cloudy, with a low of around 59 degrees. Wind gusts could get as high as 30 mph during the day before settling down a bit at night
A man shot to death early Sunday in Cedar Rapids had been acquitted in 2018 by a jury of first-degree murder and other charges related to a street fight involving dozens of combatants.
Cedar Rapids police said Kenyauta Vesey-Keith, 23, was killed in a shooting in the 1300 block of First Avenue SE. Officers were called at 12:06 a.m. Sunday and found Vesey-Keith suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
In 2018, Vesey-Keith was acquitted of first-degree murder and other charges stemming from a 2016 fight that led to the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Brandon Johnson. Vesey-Keith was 16 at the time of the shooting, and 18 at the time of the trial. He was accused of first-degree murder, attempted murder, willful injury causing serious injury and intimidation with a weapon, but was acquitted of all charges.
In the trial, prosecutors argued that Vesey-Keith took a gun from a vehicle and fired multiple rounds, hitting Johnson and Gaudlin. Vesey-Keith's lawyers argued he fired the gun in self-defense and presented evidence that he had previous issues with Johnson and others before the street fight.
The investigation into the shooting Sunday is ongoing, and no additional information was available. Police said they believed it was a targeted incident.
Crews started Monday to demolish the remains of a six-story apartment building in downtown Davenport that partially collapsed more than two weeks ago, killing three people and leaving dozens without a home.
Workers were using a large excavator to dismantle the 116-year-old brick, steel and concrete structure in a process officials said would take several weeks. It's a difficult task because the building is in the heart of the city's downtown and is believed to contain asbestos and other potentially hazardous material.
Building owner Andrew Wold pleaded guilty Monday to a civil infraction filed by the city, according to online court records. The infraction, which stated that Wold didn't maintain safe conditions at the building, carries a $300 fine plus $95 in court costs. The city has said Wold will be charged for demolition expenses.
Separately, building tenants have named Wold and others in lawsuits related to the building collapse. Another lawsuit filed Friday — the fourth related to the collapse so far — said Wold and the city failed to notify tenants after a March 13 inspection to vacate, giving them enough time to collect their belongings, according to the Quad City Times
State Sen. Zach Wahls of Coralville, in a social media post Monday, described and defended the events that led to his ouster last week as Democrats’ leader in the Iowa Senate.
Wahls was voted out of his position as Iowa Senate minority leader when Senate Democrats called an impromptu meeting and voted to make Sen. Pam Jochum, of Dubuque, their new leader.
Wahls’ post Monday was his first public comment since the vote.
“I am no longer leader because I made the difficult decision to fire two longtime staffers who did not share my vision for change while restructuring our staff. My Senate Democratic colleagues disagreed with my decision,” Wahls said in the post. “There is always a resistance to change and new ideas, and I stand by the decision because Iowa Democrats desperately need a new direction and leaders who will chart that course.”
