Woman tells about night her boyfriend was shot, killed in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — The girlfriend of Kenyauta Vesey-Keith, who was fatally shot outside a bar in 2023, testified Thursday that the night seemed “off,” and that she “didn’t feel right” about going out partying.

Rosie Clandio, 26, of Cedar Rapids, said she and Vesey-Keith hadn’t been out for a while. She didn’t want to go out June 10, 2023, but Vesey-Keith, then 23, did.

She didn’t know he would encounter Denzel Wilson, 25, of Cedar Rapids, a member of rival gang called MOB, who is standing trial this week for killing Vesey-Keith in the early morning hours of June 11, 2023.

She felt uneasy about being out because Vesey-Keith in 2016 had fatally shot Brandon Johnson, 21, who was in MOB and Clandio’s brother, in a street fight. He was acquitted of Johnson’s murder in 2018 after claiming self-defense.

Clandio said Vesey-Keith, who witnesses testified Wednesday belonged to a gang called BNA, hadn’t gone out much since Johnson’s shooting because most people in the community knew about the slaying.

Clandio said they ended up going to Poppa N Tommyz at 1323 First Ave. SE with some other friends, and the evening started out good. However, it turned badly after they had split up inside the bar and Vesey-Keith called her to say Wilson was at the bar.

Vesey-Keith told her he was outside the front of the bar. She started walking that way but as soon as they hung up, she heard gunshots.

“I started running toward the noise,” she testified. “Everybody is running away from the front when I saw him,” her boyfriend, on the ground.

Wilson is charged with first-degree murder and going armed with intent. His trial started Tuesday in Linn County District Court and is expected to go into next week. Because of a scheduling conflict, there will be no court Friday and the trial will resume Monday.

A prosecutor said Wednesday that Wilson killed Vesey-Keith for revenge because Vesey-Keith had killed his fellow gang member, Johnson. The rival groups have continued to have “bitterness” and incidents over the years, the prosecutor said.

Two witnesses testified Wednesday that Wilson was the shooter that night.

Wilson is claiming self-defense because he feared Vesey-Keith and felt threatened when he saw him that night.

Shooting on video

The prosecution showed a surveillance video of the couple’s arrival and their movements outside and inside the bar. When the video was played that showed Wilson shooting Vesey-Keith, Clandio started crying during her testimony.

Clandio said she had separated from Vesey-Keith in the bar, saying they planned to go to the rooftop to smoke. Vesey-Keith and a friend, she said, were going out to his car to get some cigar “wraps” to hollow out and refill with marijuana.

She thought Vesey-Keith would be safe because he wasn’t alone, but then she learned he went outside without his friend and then she received his text and call about Wilson.

Clandio said Vesey-Keith didn’t have a gun that night. He was patted down by security at the door of the bar. A video was played for the jury showing Vesey-Keith being patted down when he entered the bar.

Witness talks to mother

In other testimony, Marisha Brown, 25, of Cedar Rapids, testified she also knew about the rivalry between BNA and MOB and that animosity continued after Johnson was killed. She and Vesey-Keith grew up together, and he was close to her brother.

Brown was at Poppa N Tommyz that night and was in a line waiting to get in when she saw the shooting. She was behind Wilson and Jaden Jackson, who testified Wednesday, and could “clearly” see them.

Vesey-Keith walked toward the front door, and her friend asked him for cash to pay a cover charge, but he didn’t have any and kept walking, Brown said. He seemed quiet, which wasn’t usual for him, and was “twisting his hair.”

Brown said Vesey-Keith didn’t speak to Wilson and didn’t notice any looks between the two. After Vesey-Keith walked by the line, she heard a gunshot and saw Wilson with a gun. She started running, her ears ringing from the noise.

She returned and went over to Vesey-Keith, who was lying on the ground. Brown said she was trying to remember his mom’s name, Saresa Keith, because she wanted to contact her but didn’t have her phone number. She called a friend who had it, and the friend called Saresa Keith.

Brown didn’t call 911 but said she thought others had.

Brown spoke to Vesey-Keith’s mother several hours later and told her what she’d seen. She also told the woman she could pass along her contact information to police.

Brown said she didn’t see a gun or weapon on Vesey-Keith that night.

On cross-examination, Brown admitted to drinking a margarita, four shots and smoking marijuana that night. She also admitted to continuing to drink more and use drugs that night and for the next few days.

She said she was trying to cope with seeing a man, someone she knew, fatally shot.

Two gunshot wounds

Dr. Dennis Klein, state medical examiner and forensic pathologist, testified Vesey-Keith had one gunshot wound under his right jaw and one to his right side. Both injuries were fatal.

The two bullets were recovered from his body during the autopsy, Klein said. The gunshot to Vesey-Keith’s jaw damaged his jugular vein, neck muscles, his vertebrae and spinal cord.

Klein said the bullet that entered his side was found in his mid-chest area, which damaged muscles, lower ribs, liver, lower diaphragm, right lung and sternum.

The manner of death was ruled a homicide.

Two Cedar Rapids police officers also testified about responding to the bar about 12:05 a.m. June 11 after receiving several 911 calls reporting a shooting.

Both rendered aid. One applied pressure to the neck wound and the other performed CPR until other officers and paramedics arrived. Both said Vesey-Keith was unresponsive and not breathing.

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