Sentencing delayed for Cedar Rapids man convicted of murdering man in Marion bar

CEDAR RAPIDS — A judge postponed the sentencing of a Cedar Rapids man, who was convicted by a jury in March of fatally shooting a man on St. Patrick’s Day in a Marion bar in 2023, so his lawyers can talk to a woman who told them after trial that she witnessed the shooting but was never interviewed by police.

A Linn County jury deliberated less than two hours March 13 before convicting Duval T. Walker Jr., 30, of first-degree murder and going armed with intent in the fatal shooting of Cameron Barnes, 32, of Cedar Rapids.

Before his trial, Walker also pleaded to one of the charges filed in the case — possession of a firearm by a felon.

He faces life in prison without the possibility for parole on the murder charge.

On Friday, the day Walker was supposed to be sentenced, Nekiedra Tucker, one of Walker’s lawyers, said the defense team had found a witness who was in the bar that night and saw the shooting but told them she was never called by police.

Tucker asked 6th Judicial District Judge Kevin McKeever to delay sentencing so they could have time to interview her.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Andrew Powers, in resisting the defense’s request, said the witness identifies Walker as the shooter, so it doesn’t favor the defense. He asked the judge to deny defense’s motion.

McKeever ruled he would allow the defense to do their “due diligence.”

He said sentencing will likely be reset for some time in June.

Walker’s trial

During Walker’s trial in March, Linn County jurors saw the surveillance video from the bar several times, and Marion police Sgt. Nicole Hotz reviewed the video for the jury.

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Hotz, who was an investigator in 2023, testified Walker approached Barnes a little before 11 p.m. and, after yelling at him, threw the first punch as Barnes turned his head away from Walker.

According to evidence, friends of Barnes and Walker then got involved in the fight, as well as a few other patrons at Cocktails & Co., 1625 Blairs Ferry Rd. in Marion, on March 17, 2023.

At some point, Walker picked up a handgun off the floor that apparently had fallen out of someone’s pocket during the fight.

The video showed a bar security employee, in trying to separate the two men, grabbed Barnes and moved him through the crowded bar toward the entrance, with Walker following them. When they got to the bar area, Walker started running toward Barnes and fired a single fatal shot.

The video showed Walker running past Barnes, who was lying on the floor, and leaving the bar.

Police did not recover the weapon during the investigation.

Investigators watched the surveillance footage from the bar’s parking lot to track the vehicle Walker left in, which wasn’t registered to him, to identify the shooter, Hotz said. Witnesses at the bar that night also identified Walker as the shooter. U.S. marshals located and detained Walker in Waterloo.

Walker claimed self-defense but didn’t testify at trial, which is his right.

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