Charles Lamont Markese Russian-Lovelady was a 22-year-old Black or African American man whose life ended in a planned robbery in Des Moines on July 31, 2022. Known to relatives and friends as Charles or “Chuckie,” he was born on June 17, 2000, and grew up in Des Moines, where he attended local public schools and graduated from East High School.
He became self-employed in lawn-care services and was remembered as an energetic young father with an infectious smile, a competitive nature and a lifelong enthusiasm for athletics, music and acrobatics. As a child, he participated with the Isiserettes Drill and Drum Corps and once performed in front of Barack Obama. He left behind a young son, a girlfriend and a large extended family.
The events that led to Charles's death began with what appeared to be an arranged marijuana transaction. Investigators determined that Violet Marie Terry used social media to contact Charles and organize the meeting, while text messages and other electronic communications allegedly showed that Terry, Darion Shawn Hermes and Cedrick Charles Thomas Jr. intended to rob him rather than complete an ordinary drug purchase. Multiple witnesses reportedly identified people involved in the plan, and investigators said the communications surrounding the meeting corroborated the robbery scheme.
Charles went to the 1300 block of 12th Street in Des Moines, where the planned exchange turned violent. During the encounter, he was shot. At approximately 6:15 p.m., he arrived at Broadlawns Medical Center suffering from a gunshot wound. Although he reached the hospital alive, his injuries proved fatal, and he died shortly afterward. Police treated the area on 12th Street as the likely crime scene and recovered two firearms during the investigation. Authorities said ammunition in one of the recovered weapons was consistent with a spent shell casing found at the scene.
Des Moines police described the killing as a targeted incident arising from a planned, drug-related robbery and said there was no indication of a continuing threat to the general public. Charles's death was recorded as Des Moines' 11th homicide of 2022. His killing also carried a painful historical connection for his family: he was the nephew of another Charles Lamont Lovelady, whose death following a confrontation with nightclub security personnel in 2000 had generated controversy and allegations of racial profiling in Des Moines.
Police moved quickly against the suspected participants. On August 1, 2022, detectives arrested Darion Shawn Hermes, initially charging him with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and possession of a firearm as a felon. Two days later, Violet Marie Terry was arrested on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. Investigators said the pair had worked together to arrange the robbery, with Terry setting up the proposed drug exchange and messages between the defendants documenting their preparations.
Cedrick Charles Thomas Jr. was initially identified as a person of interest whose information was considered critical to the investigation. He left Iowa and was located in Detroit, Michigan, on August 26, 2022. Des Moines detectives traveled to Detroit as the investigation continued, and warrants were issued charging Thomas with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. He was arrested and extradition proceedings began to return him to Iowa. With his apprehension, all three people accused of participating in the robbery were in custody.
The prosecutions ultimately produced different outcomes for the three defendants. Hermes pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and first-degree robbery rather than proceeding to trial on the original murder charge. He received consecutive prison terms totaling 35 years. The robbery sentence carried a substantial mandatory minimum before he could become eligible for parole or work release. Hermes later appealed the sentencing court's decision to require him to serve 70 percent of the robbery term before eligibility, but the Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the sentence.
Terry also resolved her case through a plea agreement. The original first-degree murder and first-degree robbery allegations were reduced, and she pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery. That conviction carried a potential prison term of up to five years. Her final responsibility was therefore based on her participation in arranging and carrying out the robbery rather than a murder conviction.
Thomas chose to waive a jury and have his case decided by a judge. Prosecutors maintained that he, Terry and Hermes had arranged the supposed drug deal as an ambush intended to separate Charles from his marijuana or other property. Following the bench trial, Thomas was found guilty of first-degree murder. In April 2025, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to Charles's family. State correctional records show that he was committed to the Iowa prison system on the murder conviction.
Charles's death transformed what had been presented as a routine exchange into a devastating loss for his son, parents, siblings and friends. His family gathered for visitation on August 8, 2022, followed by a celebration of life at Valley Church in West Des Moines the next morning. He was laid to rest at Glendale Cemetery. While the arrests, guilty pleas and murder conviction brought legal accountability, they could not restore the young entrepreneur, musician, athlete and father whose family remembered him for his fearless personality, devotion to those he loved and ability to bring energy and joy into a room.
