Plea deal coming for Cedar Rapids man accused of fatally shooting another man over cigarettes

CEDAR RAPIDS — The murder trial for a Cedar Rapids man, accused of killing a man over a pack of cigarettes at a party in 2019, will not go forward later this month because a plea agreement has been reached.

No details of the agreement involving Jermaine Walker, 38, have been made public.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Andrew Chappell said during a Friday hearing that the prosecutor and Walker’s lawyer had told him they had reached a plea agreement. He set a plea hearing for Oct. 8 in Linn County District Court.

Walker is charged with first-degree murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent and being felon in possession of a firearm.

He is accused of fatally shooting Wayne Jones, 31, of Cedar Rapids, on Nov. 2, 2019.

Last year, an unsealed search warrant affidavit stated a woman called 911 at 5:43 a.m. that day, saying someone had been shot in the chest at 932 38th St. SE.

Officers found Jones, who had an empty gun holster on his hip, lying on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to his chest.

The warrant stated that before Jones received medical attention, police Sgt. Lucas Jones — who was fired in 2020 for violating departmental policy during a 2016 traffic stop and lying about it — attempted to question Wayne Jones about who shot him but that the wounded man cursed the officer.

Wayne Jones was taken to UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's Hospital by ambulance and died there at 6:47 a.m., according to the affidavit.

The 911 caller, “K.R.,” initially told police a Black man, wearing a plaid jacket and ski mask, entered the apartment and shot Jones once, the affidavit stated. The shooter then held K.R. by the arm to prevent her from helping Jones.

She said the suspect left after watching Jones suffer for a while. K.R. believed the suspect wanted Jones to die, according to the affidavit.

Later that day, another officer received a call from “L.J.,” saying K.R. admitted she had lied to police. K.R. told her the shooting was over a pack of cigarettes. Jones had argued with a man known as “Chico,” later identified as Walker, who is the cousin of K.R.'s boyfriend.

Walker, while at the party, was smoking other people’s cigarettes, and Jones called him out for being “cheap,” which started an argument. Walker left the party but intentionally left his phone, so he would have a reason to return, L.J. told police.

When Walker returned, he shot Jones and pointed the gun at K.R.'s head, threatening her and telling her not to tell anyone.

In a second interview, K.R. verified what L.J. had told investigators. She also showed investigators text messages from Walker, who had sent some while she was at the police department during her initial interview. She admitted to dating him years ago.

Walker was located in the parking lot of a grocery store. During a police interview, Walker admitted to being at the party but denied shooting Jones, according to the criminal complaint.

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