Waymond Thomas, a 36-year-old man, was fatally shot during a violent confrontation outside the H-Bar in Iowa City during the early morning hours of October 23, 2022. At approximately 1:59 a.m., Iowa City police officers were sent to the nightclub at 220 South Van Buren Street after callers reported that multiple gunshots had been fired in the nearby alley.
As officers traveled to the scene, dispatchers received additional information indicating that someone had been wounded.
Officers found Thomas suffering from at least one gunshot wound and immediately began providing emergency medical assistance. The Johnson County Ambulance Service transported him to a hospital, but he died from his injuries. Investigators later determined that one of the bullets had struck him in the back. Police initially had no suspect in custody and asked anyone who had witnessed the confrontation or possessed surveillance footage from businesses and residences in the area to come forward. Iowa City Area Crime Stoppers also offered a reward for information leading to an arrest.
The circumstances surrounding the gunfire became clearer as investigators reconstructed a series of confrontations that had unfolded near the bar. According to later court findings, Antonio Scotton and an acquaintance had participated in an earlier conflict involving several people. After that confrontation subsided, Scotton and his companion began walking away. Thomas and Tramon Robinson then approached them and accused Scotton of assaulting a woman earlier that night. Another physical fight began.
During the struggle, a handgun Robinson was carrying fell to the ground. Scotton obtained the weapon and fired several rounds in the direction of Robinson and Thomas. Thomas was struck as the confrontation escalated and later died at the hospital. Court records indicated that he was shot in the back, and the sentencing judge later described the evidence as showing that Thomas had been moving away when he was hit.
The investigation continued for nearly five months before police arrested Scotton, who was 19 at the time of the shooting. On March 13, 2023, authorities charged him with voluntary manslaughter and intimidation with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors later added a charge of participating in a riot. The case was handled with assistance from the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety, the University Heights Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communication Center and the Johnson County Attorney's Office.
A second arrest followed in May 2023. Robinson, who had possessed the handgun before it fell during the fight, was charged with dominion or control of a firearm by a felon. Authorities said he had prior felony convictions and was legally prohibited from possessing the weapon. His prosecution was based on his possession of the firearm rather than an allegation that he had fired the shot that killed Thomas.
Scotton eventually reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a reduced charge from voluntary manslaughter, and participating in a riot. As part of the agreement, the intimidation-with-a-dangerous-weapon charge was dismissed. He also agreed to pay $150,000 in restitution. By pleading guilty, Scotton admitted that his actions unintentionally caused Thomas's death and that he had willingly participated in a group engaged in violent and disturbing conduct.
At sentencing, Scotton asked the court to defer judgment, pointing to his young age, his conduct while on pretrial release, his employment, his family responsibilities and his efforts to continue his education. His defense also emphasized that Thomas's death had not been intentional. Prosecutors opposed leniency and requested two consecutive prison terms, arguing that the shooting, the earlier riot and Scotton's criminal history made incarceration necessary.
The judge rejected Scotton's request for a deferred judgment. The court concluded that the riot and the fatal shooting were separate violent events involving different victims and found that the seriousness of firing a gun during the confrontation outweighed the positive factors presented by the defense. Scotton received two indeterminate five-year prison sentences, one for involuntary manslaughter and one for participating in a riot, with the terms ordered to run consecutively for a total possible sentence of 10 years.
Scotton appealed, arguing that the sentencing court had placed too much emphasis on Thomas's death and had abused its discretion by imposing prison time and making the sentences consecutive. On June 18, 2025, the Iowa Court of Appeals rejected those arguments. The appellate court found that the sentencing judge had properly considered the circumstances, provided sufficient reasons for the punishment and acted within the court's discretion. Scotton's convictions and consecutive prison sentences were affirmed.
Robinson separately resolved the firearm case connected to the shooting. In September 2024, a judge imposed a five-year suspended sentence, placed him on probation for two years and ordered him to pay a fine. Although Robinson's firearm became the weapon Scotton used, Robinson was not convicted of causing Thomas's death. The homicide case ultimately resulted in Scotton's convictions for involuntary manslaughter and participating in a riot, while Robinson was punished for unlawfully possessing the gun that fell into Scotton's hands during the fatal confrontation.
