On the night of January 30, 2020, three teenagers were killed in a duplex on East Hackley Avenue on Des Moines’ southeast side. Devonte Swanks, 19, was found dead inside the residence alongside his 16-year-old brother Malachi Swanks and their 15-year-old friend Thayne Wright. First responders arrived after a shooting call around 11:20 p.m.; all three had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

Autopsy and scene evidence described a violent, close-range attack: Devonte had been shot twice in the back with a shotgun and once in the chest with a handgun. Investigators say items including a PlayStation, an Xbox, cell phones and clothing were missing, and robbery emerged as an apparent motive. Witnesses placed the suspects with the victims shortly before the killings, and police recovered victim property during searches.

Authorities arrested 19-year-old Emmanuel Totaye Jr. and 20-year-old Daishawn Gills on charges including first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, and later arrested 17-year-old Leontreal Jones in Illinois on similar charges. Surveillance, ballistics and recovered property were cited as links to the suspects. Did anyone in Des Moines recognize Gwills’s car or see activity near East Hackley Avenue that night?