In the pre-dawn hours of November 2, 2016, a chilling sequence of events unfolded in the Des Moines, Iowa, area, resulting in the death of 38-year-old White male, Sergeant Anthony David Beminio. An 11-year veteran of the Des Moines Police Department, Beminio was ambushed and fatally shot while on duty, seated alone in his patrol car. His death was part of a targeted attack that also claimed the life of another local officer within minutes.
The night's violence began shortly after 1:00
a.m. in the suburb of Urbandale, when Officer Justin Martin was shot and killed in his vehicle. Approximately 20 minutes later and just two miles away, Sergeant Beminio was ambushed at the intersection of Merle Hay Road and Sheridan Avenue. He was responding to the shooting of Officer Martin when he was attacked. Beminio was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Investigators believe both officers were caught by surprise and had no interaction with the gunman before the shootings.
Within hours, authorities identified 46-year-old Scott Michael Greene of Urbandale as the sole suspect in the "ambush-style" killings. A witness description of his vehicle helped lead investigators to him. Greene turned himself in to a Department of Natural Resources officer in Dallas County around 9:30 a.m. the same day. Following his release from a hospital for a pre-existing condition, he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Greene had a history of confrontations with law enforcement and was known to local police. Just weeks before the shootings, he had been escorted from a high school football game after waving a Confederate flag. Court records also indicated that just a day before the murders, a judge had ordered Greene to move out of his mother's home, citing elder abuse. On May 19, 2017, Scott Michael Greene pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
