DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines man was found guilty by a jury on Friday of murdering a man near the Drake University campus last year.

On Aug. 19, 2022 Des Moines Police responded to a shooting near the 2400 block of University Avenue, right outside of Rico’s at Drake Bar and Grill. When first responders arrived on scene they found 39-year-old Tyrell Lavell Grimes suffering from multiple gun shot wounds. Grimes was taken to a hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Witnesses at the scene told police that Grimes and another man, later identified as 44-year-old Andrew Jerome Harris, got into a verbal argument and Harris later left the area in his vehicle, court documents state. A short time later Harris returned to the scene and began arguing with Grimes again. During the second argument Harris pulled out a handgun and shot Grimes twice, a criminal complaint states.

Harris initially told detectives he wasn’t driving around the area at the time of the shooting, according to court documents, but he later claimed he shot Grimes in self-defense because he believed Grimes posed a threat.

Investigators retrieved surveillance footage from a nearby business that showed Harris’ vehicle driving around the area about two minutes before the shooting, a criminal complaint states. Detectives also found a box for a Springfield Armory hellcat 9mm pistol. Inside that box was a box of Federal 9mm Luger 124 grain nickel plated bullets containing only one live round that was consistent with casings recovered from the crime scene.

Harris was found guilty of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 13.