In the winter of 2017, the life of 20-year-old Augustin Kouh, a Black / African American male, was tragically cut short on a sidewalk in Des Moines, Iowa. On the evening of February 7th, Kouh was found shot to death in the 800 block of Shawnee Avenue. The incident, which was later determined to be drug-related, also involved an 18-year-old man, Nelson Atary, who was shot but managed to survive by driving himself to seek medical attention.
The investigation into Kouh's death led to the
arrest of a 17-year-old male, Dequavius Robinson. Robinson was initially charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with Kouh's death, as well as attempted murder for the shooting of Atary. At the time of his arrest, Robinson was 16 years old.
Rather than proceeding to a murder trial, Robinson entered an Alford plea to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, along with two counts of first-degree robbery. This plea allowed him to maintain his innocence while acknowledging that the prosecution had enough evidence for a likely conviction. Consequently, the teenager was sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for his role in the fatal shooting of Augustin Kouh.
