In the early morning hours of Sunday, August 23, 2020, the quiet of a Davenport, Iowa, apartment complex was shattered by violence. Inside the Summer Ridge apartment complex at 6500 Harrison Street, a 45-year-old Black / African American man named Sylvester Eddings was found with a gunshot wound. Police had been called to the scene around 6:46 a.m. for a report of shots fired. When they arrived, they discovered Eddings, who was rushed to Genesis East medical center.
Despite the efforts of medical personnel, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the death of Sylvester Eddings quickly moved forward. Detectives began piecing together the events that led to the fatal shooting. Within days, their investigation identified four individuals believed to be responsible for the presumed homicide. The incident was characterized by police as not a random act of violence. The investigation culminated in the arrests of three suspects on charges of first-degree murder and robbery.
Those taken into custody were Demarcus Liddell, 33, Cordell McDowell, 32, and Taneshia Coleman, 36. A fourth suspect, 33-year-old Derrick Hargrett, was also identified and a warrant was issued for his arrest on the same charges of first-degree murder and robbery. The arrests brought some measure of progress in a case that had ended a man's life and left a community seeking answers. The investigation continued as authorities sought to bring all responsible parties to justice.
