Cedar Rapids teen arrested in Iowa City shooting

IOWA CITY - A Cedar Rapids teen faces attempted murder and first-degree robbery charges for firing a gun at a group of people Wednesday.

The Iowa City Police Department responded to the area of Esther Court and Parkview Avenue - across from Mercer Park on the east side of Iowa City - at 7:02 p.m. Wednesday for a report of shots fired. Witnesses gave police information on the suspect, his vehicle and a license plate description.

Four minutes later, a Johnson County Sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle going southbound on First Avenue near Highway 6, and authorities stopped the vehicle at Highway 6 and Broadway Street. Five juveniles - all from Cedar Rapids - were found in the vehicle, police said. A pistol was also recovered.

An investigation showed Dannish D. Robertson, 16, who lives in the 700 block of 26th Street SE, had come to Iowa City from Cedar Rapids to fight three people, according to police. Police said Robertson - whose Facebook profile lists him as a Jefferson High School student - confronted the victims, pulled a handgun and demanded they empty their pockets. Police said Robertson said he would shoot the victims.

Sgt. Scott Gaarde said the three alleged victims were also juveniles.

Police said as Robertson ran back to his vehicle, he pointed his gun toward the victims and began firing shots as they ran. No one was hit, but at least one round hit a residence, police said.

Robertson allegedly told police he went to the victim's home intending only to intimidate the victims, but began to fire shots after an argument ensued, authorities said.

Gaarde said police are still trying to piece together what led to the shooting and how Robertson allegedly got his hands on the pistol.

'It's an ongoing dispute, which remains under investigation,” he said.

However, the mother of two of the victims, Asia Cheeks, said it was a case of mistaken identity. Cheeks said her sons were at her home on Esther Court Wednesday evening, along with three of their siblings and a friend, when Robertson and his associates arrived. Cheeks - who was at work during the incident - said Robertson asked her sons and their friend if any of them was 'Dre,” a friend of her sons'.

'He didn't even know who he was looking for,” Cheeks said.

During the dispute, Robertson put the gun to the three boys' chests and patted them down, Cheeks said. He didn't take anything.

Cheeks said her sons described the shooting to her.

'He fired one shot, then he paused and then he fired four to five more shots,” said Cheeks.

One of the rounds hit the side of the home Cheeks has lived in with her six children for the last 10 months.

Cheeks said she didn't learn about the shooting until 8:20 p.m., when an officer came to her home and said there had been an emergency with her children. As her mind started to race to her six children, the youngest of whom was at daycare at the time, the officer told her about the shooting.

'I just started to cry,” Cheeks said. 'That sort of stuff I'm not used to happening here.”

Rodney Watson isn't used to it happening, either. A resident of Esther Street for 36 years, Watson said he's never heard shots fired on his street before Wednesday night.

'At first you think it's firecrackers,” Watson said, describing what he heard from his home, less than a block from the shooting. 'But then you go, ‘No, it's not firecrackers.'”

Watson said he looked out his window in time to see the suspect vehicle going about 45 mph down Esther Street.

While he hopes the incident is isolated, Watson said he's now concerned about retaliation.

'I hope it doesn't happen again, but as I told the neighbors, ‘If it happened once, it'll happen again,'” he said.

Cheeks, who said her sons were asleep late Thursday morning after being up late speaking with police, believes her sons are lucky to be alive.

'If he was more experienced at shooting, (my sons) would've been hit,” she said.

Robertson was taken into custody and faces three counts of attempted murder and three counts of first-degree robbery, both Class B felonies punishable by up to 25 years in prison. He has been taken to the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center.

Gun violence involving teens and young adults has been an issue in Cedar Rapids for several years now. Last September, then-14-year-old Robert Humbles fatally shot Aaron Richardson in southeast Cedar Rapids. Two shootings in March involving teens claimed two lives. Police said 15-year-old Senquez Jackson died on March 19, less than 24 hours after he was allegedly shot by 13-year-old Dennis Warren. That same night, 21-year-old Brandon Johnson died after being shot by 16-year-old Kenyauta Vesey-Keith. A 16-year-old boy was also injured by Vesey-Keith in the shooting.

Last month, Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman attributed the drive-by shooting of a 32-year-old woman in her home to an ongoing dispute between local gangs comprised of teens and young adults.

Iowa City police said more charges are pending in Wednesday's shooting. The incident remains under investigation.