Coralville man charged in Taboo deadly shooting wants to subpoena police records

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Coralville man charged with killing a Cedar Rapids man inside a downtown nightclub in April wants to subpoena police records that may indicate previous shooting incidents between the two men.

During the investigation into the Taboo Nightclub & Lounge fatal shooting of Michael Valentine, 25, individuals told Cedar Rapids investigators that there had been previous shootings involving Dimione Jamal Walker, 29, and Valentine, according to a motion filed Tuesday in Linn County District Court.

The nightclub shooting early April 10 killed three people and injured 10, police said. Walker is charged with one of the murders and another man is charged with the other two.

Walker, facing a first-degree murder count, was identified as shooting Valentine inside the club, according to a criminal complaint. The shooting was captured on a video surveillance camera and showed Walker shooting Valentine at “point blank range with what is believed to be a 9 mm handgun,” the complaint stated.

Walker fired about eight shots and Valentine suffered six gunshot wounds, including one to his left cheek, according to the complaint.

The individuals who talked to police said another shooting involving Walker and Valentine happened less than three weeks earlier, on March 26 at the Spare Time Entertainment Center in southeast Cedar Rapids, according to the motion.

Mike Battien, Cedar Rapids’ public safety spokesman, said Tuesday there was a shots-fired incident at 12:37 a.m. March 26 outside the building, but no arrests were made. The incident remains under investigation.

The motion also states Walker was the victim of a shooting in 2016 in Cedar Rapids that sent him to the hospital, but it didn’t provide further details.

Walker’s lawyers said they believe there are police reports, narratives and other documents that have information regarding those previous incidents involving Walker and Valentine, according to the motion. They are asking the court for an order allowing them to serve a subpoena to Cedar Rapids police, which has refused to provide the information without a subpoena, the motion states.

The prosecution hasn’t yet responded to the motion.

Walker also filed a notice last week that he will claim the shooting was in self-defense or in defense of others.

Walker wasn’t extradited from Illinois, where he was arrested by U.S. Marshals, until September because he was being held at the Stateville Prison in Joliet, Ill., on parole violations for possession of a weapon. He was arrested near Chicago in April, but Illinois officials wouldn’t release him until Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks obtained a governor’s warrant to bring him back to Iowa.

He was formally charged in September with first-degree murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent and felon in possession of a firearm.

Timothy Rush also was charged in the nightclub incident for fatally shooting his girlfriend, Nicole Owens, 35, the mother of his 1-year-old child, and Marvin L. Cox, 31, who initially survived but then died July 24 from his injuries.

Rush is charged with two counts of second-degree murder; two counts of willful injury causing serious injury; two counts of reckless use of a firearm causing serious injury; three counts of willful injury causing bodily injury; three counts of reckless use of a firearm causing bodily injury; one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon; and one count of possession of a firearm as a felon.

The criminal complaint stated that Rush “fired intentionally and indiscriminately” with what police believe was a 9 mm handgun into the large crowd at the club.

After further investigation, an amended complaint stated Rush also shot Alazia Cotton and Makayla Stokes, causing serious injuries, and Traniece Worley, Denise Triplett and Richard Nicksion, who suffered bodily injuries.

According to the complaint, 10 people were shot, but the other victims are not named.

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