Iowa City man sentenced to 12 years for shooting, paralyzing victim

IOWA CITY -- An Iowa City man who shot another man several times last May, causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down, was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday in Johnson County District Court.

Alexander O. Voudhivong, 23, previously pleaded guilty to willful injury causing serious injury, a felony, and reckless use of a firearm, an aggravated misdemeanor.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Michael Harris sentenced Voudhivong to a combined total of 12 years for both convictions. He must serve five years of the 10-year sentence for willful injury before being eligible for parole.

Four other charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The shooting victim, Anthony Allen, didn’t attend the sentencing or make a victim impact statement during the hearing.

Voudhivong took a firearm from one of the two men he was with on May 13, 2023, and fired multiple shots at Allen, striking him eight times in an alley in the 300 block of Iowa Avenue, near Clock Tower Parking Ramp. This was after a fight had started at El Rays, 211 Iowa Ave., involving Voudhivong and others.

Allen didn’t have any weapon and wasn’t involved in the previous fight, according to court records.

Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith said Allen has serious spinal fractures and a spinal cord injury as a result of the shooting and is paralyzed from the waist down.

According to court documents, Marquel D. Poole, 23, and Narada Poole Jr., 25, both of West Des Moines, also were charged in the shooting.

Marquel Poole, who gave the gun to Voudhivong in surveillance video that captured the shooting, pleaded to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He will be sentenced to five years in prison July 8.

He has a previous conviction for weapons in 2021 and was on probation at the time of the shooting. His probation has since been revoked. As part of the plea in this shooting, those suspended sentences will run concurrently to the five years he faces in July.

Narada Poole, who purchased the gun used by Voudhivong, is charged with control of a firearm by a felon and prohibited transfer of a firearm to an unauthorized person. His trial is set for May 18. Narada Poole has a previous conviction for weapons and also was on probation when Allen was shot.

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