In the cold of a January evening in Des Moines, Iowa, the life of a 24-year-old Black male, Trishay Marsean Thompson, was irrevocably altered. On the night of January 9, 2022, Thompson, accompanied by two friends, drove to an apartment complex located in the 1400 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. The purpose of their visit was a drug transaction that had been arranged through Facebook Messenger. However, the deal was cancelled after a series of communications.
Shortly after the cancellation, two men emerged from the apartment building and unleashed a barrage of gunfire into the vehicle where Thompson and his friends were seated.
Struck by the gunfire, Thompson was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. For weeks, he fought for his life, but his injuries proved too severe. On the morning of January 27, 2022, Trishay Marsean Thompson succumbed to his wounds, and his death marked the city's first homicide of the year. The shooting, which police later described as an attempted robbery during a drug deal, set off an intensive investigation by the Des Moines Police Department.
The investigation led to the identification and arrest of two suspects, Salifou Sahr and Sam Sando. In September 2023, a Polk County jury found Salifou Sahr guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, and two counts of assault causing serious injury for his role in the fatal shooting. This conviction carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The second man charged, Sam Sando, was later sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after a jury found him guilty on charges including attempted robbery and discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking crime related to the incident.
