Witnesses say Cedar Rapids man started ‘brawl’ that turned into fatal shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS — A witness testified Thursday that Duval T. Walker Jr., seemed upset when he started talking to Cameron Barnes, which led to Walker throwing a punch, Barnes punching back and ended when Barnes was fatally shot last St. Patrick’s Day in a Marion bar.

Demarrio Gipson — who said he was Barnes’ best friend and “more like a brother” — testified he didn’t know what the two men were talking about, except he heard Walker saying “lying (expletive),” to which Barnes didn’t have much of a response.

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Walker then put his phone in his pocket and punched Barnes. Gipson said he punched Walker, who fell into Barnes. Barnes punched Walker, and a “brawl” broke out with others joining in, Gipson said.

Walker, 30, is charged with first-degree murder and going armed with intent in Linn County District Court in the fatal shooting of Barnes, 32, on March 17, 2023, inside Cocktails & Co., 1625 Blairs Ferry Rd., Marion.

Jury selection started Tuesday, and Thursday was the first day of testimony. The prosecution continues its case Friday. The trial is expected to go into next week.

Walker plans to claim self-defense.

What happened

In court Thursday, Gipson pointed out himself and others on a surveillance video, played by the prosecution, that captures the fight and the shooting.

Gipson said he and Barnes had “hung out” and done some shopping earlier in the day. The two met up at Cocktails after 10 p.m. Gipson was with a woman, and Barnes was on his own. Barnes seemed “antsy” that night but his “normal self,” Gipson said.

After the fight started, Gipson said he only hit Walker once and that Barnes was just “defending himself.”

Gipson said a security employee of the bar jumped in and tried to separate Barnes and Walker and that he and the employee were pushing Barnes back.

He said he lost track of Barnes and then heard a gunshot and started to leave. He noticed Barnes wasn’t behind him, so he returned to the bar to get him and found Barnes had been shot and was on the floor.

More than one person provided CPR to Barnes, and Gipson stayed with him until emergency personnel showed up.

Gipson said he didn’t know Walker and hadn’t seen him before that night. He also said Barnes didn’t have a weapon that night.

Cross-examination

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On cross-examination, Lindsay Garner, Walker’s lawyer, asked Gipson if he recalled saying in a deposition that he had hit Walker more than once.

Gipson said he didn’t remember.

Gipson admitted Barnes was trying to get away from him and the security employee as he was being pulled back.

Garner asked Gipson if he had two forgery convictions in 2019. Gipson said he did.

On redirect questioning by the prosecution, Gipson said it was chaotic after the fight started, and that he didn’t see the shooting. He only saw Barnes after he was shot.

Other testimony

Marcus Johnson, the security employee who was pulling Barnes back during the fight, also testified. Johnson resigned from the part-time job after the shooting.

Johnson said there was more than one fight that night in the bar. He was dealing with one when he heard a lot of “commotion” coming from pool table area — where Barnes and Walker were fighting, along with two or three others.

Johnson got in between Barnes and Walker and grabbed Barnes and was pulling him away. Barnes tried to “reengage” with Walker at one point, but Johnson held him back.

As he was holding Barnes and attempting to escort him to the main door of the bar, someone yelled a person — Walker — had a gun, and he let go of Barnes in order to get out of the way. He then saw Walker shoot at Barnes. Johnson got out his phone and called 911.

He testified that he thought the firearm was a black semi-automatic handgun.

Dr. Jonathan Thompson, forensic pathologist and state medical examiner, testified that Barnes had one gunshot wound that entered the back of his neck and exited his lower right back.

The bullet traveled through his chest cavity, into his right lung and out his lower back, Thompson said. Barnes was bleeding internally and had 1.8 liters of blood in his chest cavity and 2.7 liters in his lungs. A man his size has about 6 liters of blood in his body, he said.

The blood around his lungs caused the lungs to collapse, Thompson testified.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Andrew Powers asked if Thompson could determine how far away the shooter was from Barnes when he fired, but Thompson said he couldn’t.

Thompson said because the bullet traveled from the top — Barnes’ neck — to the bottom — his back — he could say it was possible Barnes was bending over or the shooter may have been standing over him shooting downward.

During the autopsy, a projectile was found in the body bag, Thompson said. He said a bullet loses velocity as it travels through the body, and Barnes’ clothing likely prevented the bullet from going “too far from the body.”

Barnes also has a blunt force injury below his right ear and other recent scrapes or abrasions on his chest, left side of his neck, elbow, upper forearm and his middle finger knuckle, the medical examiner said.

The cause of death was the single gunshot wound, Thompson said.

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