Des Moines police recorded 10 homicide cases in 2012, three of which remain unsolved; the other seven, have been closed by arrest.
2012 started in heartbreak for the Talton family, when Teandre Talton was killed in a drive-by shooting on January 7th. About a month later, Des Moines Police had two suspects in custody.
“Typically we are above national average with clearance rates, and that`s through a large part through the work of our detective bureau, credit to them for what they do,” said Sgt. Jason Halifax with the Des Moines Police, “They do a good job up there. They take all the cases they get, and investigate them as thoroughly as they possibly can, whether its videos or interviews, interrogations or summiting evidence to get processed later.”
Unfortunately, not every case in 2012 ended with an arrest, but detectives are actively working on the year’s three open cases. Six of the year’s murders took place in the last 3 months of the year, and half of those still have investigators working around the clock for a solution.
On October 25th, Stanley Golinsky’s body was found near the Des Moines River. Almost an exact month later, 20 year old Nicholas White was found in the basement of a drake neighborhood apartment. Just a month after that, 31 year old Rashad Adair passed away. Adair was shot while sitting in his car in early December.
While those families still struggle with the unknown, Des Moines police continue their work to bring those answers.
“I won’t say any arrests are imminent but I know a couple of them they have at least some names of possible suspects, and they are working angles right now to develop those cases,” said Sgt. Halifax.
Investigators are also working on 2 unsolved homicides from 2011: 24 year old Cyrus Hicks and 32 year old Marion Harris.
In 2012, 203 robberies were called into dispatch. That includes muggings, carjacking, as well as thefts from homes, and stores. That number is right on track with the year before. 2011 had 200 reported robberies.
