DES MOINES, Iowa — A judge sentenced an Iowa man to 65 years in prison Thursday for killing two students at a Des Moines alternative school and wounding the program’s founder.
Polk County District Judge Larry McLellan sentenced Preston Walls, 19, to consecutive terms before his September conviction on charges of manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter and assault causing serious injury.
A jury convicted Walls after he admitted to killing Rashad Carr, 16, and Gionni Dameron, 18, on Jan. 23, 2023, at the Starts Right Here alternative school on the edge of downtown Des Moines. Will Keeps, the school’s founder, was also shot but survived. He quickly reopened the program, which is administered through a contract with Des Moines public schools.
Walls said he feared for his life after previous encounters with Carr and Dameron.
Walls must serve a minimum of 40 years of his sentence before he is eligible for release. He must also pay $150,000 in restitution to the families of Carr and Dameron.
Jurors acquitted another man, Bravon Tukes, who had been charged with murder and other charges after driving Walls away from the shooting. Walls testified in that trial, saying Tukes did not plan the shooting and had no role in the killings.