In a quiet duplex on the southeast side of Des Moines, Iowa, the lives of three young men were brought to a violent end on the night of January 30, 2020. Among them was Devonte Swanks, a 19-year-old Black male, who was discovered by police alongside his younger brother, 16-year-old Malachi Swanks, and their 15-year-old friend, Thayne Wright. First responders, answering a call about a shooting at a residence on East Hackley Avenue around 11:20 p.m., found a tragic scene inside; all three
teenagers were deceased, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Devonte and his brother lived at the residence where the incident occurred.
The investigation into the triple homicide revealed a brutal and calculated attack. An autopsy would later show that Devonte had been shot twice in the back at close range with a shotgun and once in the chest with a handgun. His brother, Malachi, and their friend, Thayne, also suffered horrific injuries from both a handgun and a shotgun. The motive for the killings quickly appeared to be robbery. Investigators learned that items, including a PlayStation, an Xbox the Swanks brothers had recently received as a gift, cell phones, and clothing, were missing from the home.
Within days, the Des Moines Police Department began making arrests. Emmanuel Totaye Jr., 19, and Daishawn Gills, 20, were taken into custody and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery. Witnesses placed both men with the victims shortly before the murders, with one witness reporting seeing Gills carrying a long gun. A search of Totaye's residence uncovered items belonging to the victims. When Gills was located, he was already in custody on an unrelated charge and was found to have some of the victims' property in his possession. A third suspect, 17-year-old Leontreal Jones, was arrested months later in Peoria, Illinois, and also faced first-degree murder charges.
The evidence against the suspects mounted as the investigation continued. Police found surveillance footage placing Gills's car near the victims' home around the time of the murders. Ballistics testing confirmed that shell casings found at the scene were fired from the same weapon used in another shooting Gills was linked to. In June 2022, justice was served for the three slain teenagers. Daishawn Gills was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Emmanuel Totaye received a sentence that would also ensure he spends the majority of his life behind bars, amounting to more than 100 years.
