Closing arguments to begin in trial for man accused of fatal Des Moines nonprofit shooting

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) - Closing arguments will happen Tuesday in the trial of a 19-year-old charged with killing two teens at an Iowa nonprofit.

Preston Walls is charged with gang participation, attempted murder, and two counts of first degree murder.

He’s accused of killing 16-year-old Rashad Carr and 18-year-old Gionni Dameron at “Starts Right Here” in Des Moines last January. The program’s founder, Will Keeps, was hurt in the shooting.

Police say Carr and Dameron were in a rival gang.

Walls on Monday testified that he noticed Dameron carrying a gun weeks before the shooting.

He said he started carrying a gun himself after members of a rival gang waited for him outside the program.

Walls said he saw various “non-verbal signs” that Dameron planned on shooting him, and admitted to pulling the trigger.

Walls is the first person to testify for the defense after the state rested its case.

The trial will resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

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