On August 16, 2019, a Boone County jury found Charles Sila Curry, 29, of Des Moines, Iowa, guilty of Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury in violation of Iowa Code section 708.4(1).
According to the testimony at trial, on May 9, 2019, at approximately 1:11 pm, a man called into the Boone County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch saying that a male had a gun pointed at him. While the victim was still talking to the 911 dispatcher the defendant, Charles Curry, fired the handgun striking the victim in both his right and left legs. Boone Police immediately responded to Franklin Park along with Fire Department Paramedics. The victim told officers that the shooter was an African-American male who had run to the southeast toward Story Street. Callers later reported seeing the defendant outside of a local school, later near downtown Boone, and several callers identified Charles Curry on the southside of town. A witness near Franklin Park reported that the defendant just before the shooting was walking in front of a white BMW driving slowly in the neighborhood. Right after the shooting the white BMW left leaving the defendant behind. The driver of the white BMW was later stopped by Boone Police Department as it was trying to leave town.
At trial several witnesses testified for the State. These witnesses testified to seeing Charles Curry in Boone, trying to get a ride to Wal-Mart. Several witnesses also identified Charles Curry as the shooter in court. There were also local surveillance videos showing the defendant in Boone that day. The white BMW belonged to Charles Curry, and contained his wallet with his ID inside.
Boone Police Department and DCI obtained the cell number of Charles Curry and were able to track his cell phone. They found that the defendant went throughout the city of Boone and took Highway 30 and later Interstate 35 to his house in Des Moines. The agents found Charles Curry in Des Moines. They searched Curry’s apartment finding an Arby’s bag from a purchase in Ames. DCI and Boone PD obtained video surveillance showing that Charles Curry was in the Arby’s store in Ames with his girlfriend a couple of hours after the shooting. When questioned by the agents, Curry denied being in Boone and stated he was just at his home and his girlfriend’s home in Boone. This was in contradiction to all the evidence and witness identifications.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on August 16, 2019, finding the defendant guilty of Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury with Use of a Firearm enhancement. A sentencing hearing is scheduled within the next six weeks. At sentencing Charles Curry faces up to ten years in prison with a minimum sentence of five years in prison. A records check on Charles Curry shows that he was previously convicted in Federal Court for Bank Robbery and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Violent Crime on December 3, 2010.
Boone County Attorney, Daniel Kolacia, tried the case on behalf of the State of Iowa for the prosecution. Charles Curry was defended by a local attorney. The Boone Police Department with the Department of Criminal Investigation and Boone Sheriff’s Office investigated this matter.
