On a Friday afternoon in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 28, 2019, emergency services were called to the 1700 block of 22nd Street around 2:15 p.m. following reports of a shooting. Responding officers discovered Earl Marcello Caldwell, a 41-year-old Black male, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported by Des Moines Fire Department personnel to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
This marked the city's fifth homicide of the year.
Shortly after Caldwell was found, at approximately 2:25 p.m., another man, 39-year-old Littleton William Clark, arrived at a local hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Investigators quickly determined that the two shootings were connected. At the scene of the incident, detectives executed a search warrant and discovered two assault-style rifles, a handgun, cocaine, and marijuana. This led to the arrest of 62-year-old Des Moines resident Larry Perry on charges of Possession Of A Weapon As A Felon, Possession With Intent To Deliver – Cocaine, Possession Of Marijuana, and a Tax Stamp Violation.
While neighbors were cooperative with the investigation, police reported that those closest to the incident were not. Despite this, the investigation led to an arrest in the murder of Earl Caldwell. Michael Reco Lyke, Jr., who was 20 years old at the time, was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and assault. In a further development, on August 7, 2019, his mother, 40-year-old Tameeca Marie Lyke, was also arrested. She was charged with Preventing Apprehension/Obstructing Prosecution for allegedly hiding the vehicle her son used during the murder and providing false statements to investigators.
Nearly two years after the shooting, Michael Lyke, Jr. accepted a plea deal. He was scheduled to go on trial in April 2021 for murder and attempted murder, but instead, he will be sentenced on charges of voluntary manslaughter and willful injury. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Lyke could face up to 30 years in prison and be ordered to pay $150,000 to the family of Earl Caldwell.
