In the early morning hours of June 16, 2020, a gathering to celebrate a life recently passed turned into a scene of tragedy in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Jamael Cox, a 25-year-old male, was present at the event in the 900 block of 10th Avenue Southwest. Just before 5 a.m., the atmosphere, which had grown tense after an earlier dispute involving a man named Isiah Mosley, erupted into chaos. A volley of bullets was unleashed, and in the crossfire, Cox was struck.
He was found lying in the street and tragically died at the scene. Another bystander, 47-year-old Tyrone Cunningham, was also killed, and two women were wounded in the shooting. Cox was an innocent victim, caught in a conflict he had no part in, just as he and his wife were about to celebrate their third wedding anniversary.
The investigation that followed the double homicide stretched on for five months, involving multiple jurisdictions. In November 2020, authorities announced the arrests of five men in connection with the fatal shooting. The suspects charged with two counts of second-degree murder were Michael J. Shivers, 55, of Eagle Grove, along with Fort Dodge residents James C. Davis Jr., 35; Michael J. Wells, 33; Darrell L. Jones, 23; and Jeremiha R. Hatten, 22. Four of the five men also faced charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The men initially pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them.
Over a year after the deadly shooting, justice for Jamael Cox and Tyrone Cunningham began to unfold in a Webster County courtroom. The trial for one of the accused, Michael J. Shivers, commenced, with testimony revealing that he had become impatient during the earlier confrontation and decided to act. Witnesses testified that Shivers fired the first shot with a Bushmaster rifle at Mosley, who was across the street. This initial shot prompted others to begin shooting, leading to the deaths of the two bystanders. In October 2021, a jury found Michael J. Shivers guilty of two counts of second-degree murder for his role in the deaths of Cox and Cunningham. He faced a potential sentence of up to 50 years for each count.
