Laser scanner aids police in recreating scene of deadly DoorDash shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS — Police investigators showed 3D laser scanner videos and numerous diagrams Friday to a jury to recreate how a DoorDash driver, his customer and the customer’s brother got into a deadly shootout in the parking lot of a northeast Cedar Rapids apartment in 2023.

Cedar Rapids Sgt. Sean Kinkead, a crime scene investigator at the time of the shooting on Oct. 5, 2023, testified in a murder trial that began this week he used crime scene evidence and a surveillance video to show who shot who and where the bullets traveled. The scanner videos depicted the actions and movements of the men with color-coded initials above the heads of the blurry or white shadows shown on the surveillance video.

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The crime scene recreation showed Myron Snyder, 21, delivering a DoorDash order to the apartment of Maurice Brown at The Pointe Apartments, 3960 Sherman St. NE. As he came back out, Brown, who ordered the food, was seen walking from across the parking lot with his brother, Cameron Armad Leonard, 26, of Cedar Rapids, who is on trial for fatally shooting Snyder.

Besides a first-degree murder charge, Leonard also is charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent, use of a dangerous weapon in the commission of a crime and being a person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon.

The prosecution continues its case Monday. The trial may wrap up Wednesday or Thursday.

A prosecutor earlier this week told jurors that Snyder was “ambushed and surrounded” by Leonard and Brown and fatally shot Brown in self-defense — before he was killed by Leonard.

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In the video shown Friday, Brown and Snyder got into a fight. As Snyder got into his car and started backing out, Brown fired three times at his car. Leonard, also armed, approached Snyder’s car with his arm extended, Kinkead testified.

A third man, Pierre Morrow, appeared with Brown and Leonard — his stepsons. Morrow, also charged in this case, remained near them in the parking lot around Snyder’s car when shots were fired. The video also showed he drove his car through the crime scene to another parking space, then continued to stand nearby and watch.

After Brown fired three shots at the front Snyder’s car, he walked around to the driver’s side and exchanged fire with Snyder while Snyder remained in the car. Leonard was standing at the front of car, with his gun drawn.

Brown, after being struck, fell to the ground. Leonard moved over to near the driver’s side and started firing. Snyder fired back, Kinkead said.

Leonard started moving toward the rear of the car. He fired multiple times through the back windshield, striking Snyder’s car seat, Kinkead said.

At this point, Snyder got out of the car and went to the ground, shooting from around the bumper or trunk up at Leonard, who was still behind the car. Leonard returned shots and then crouched down to reload his gun.

The video showed Leonard going around to front of car and then he was seen on the ground on the driver’s side, feet away from Brown and Snyder.

According to previous testimony, Brown and Snyder died from their gunshot injuries. Leonard was injured.

Kinkead also showed jurors the positions and movements of the men in another video, which had color-coded mannequins to represent each. The recreation had object like cars and trees shown in the surveillance video removed, Kinkead said, to give a better view of the men’s movements.

Kinkead said he had to use assumptions of the general area of the men’s positions when they were on the driver’s side of the car because of the surveillance video’s point of view. He also factored in each man’s height to depict the location of gunshots based on trajectory rods that showed gunshot damage to the car.

On cross examination, Kinkead said he intentionally didn’t use interviews of witnesses because they can be subjective and these recreations were based on crime scene evidence.

In earlier testimony, Jared Gienger, also a crime scene investigator, testified about the gunfire to Snyder’s car and identified photos of the numerous holes or damage where trajectory rods helped Kinkead recreate the crime scene with the 3D scanner.

Previous evidence showed Snyder fired 11 gunshots and Leonard 13.

Investigator Christopher Carton testified that Leonard had gunshot injuries to his arms, legs and torso. He had an entrance and exit wound to his right arm from possibly one bullet, and an entrance and exit wound on his left thigh from one bullet. Leonard also had a wound to his left forearm, which likely was a gunshot injury, and another one to his left bicep. Leonard also had a two gunshot wounds to the left side of his torso, Carton said.

Carton also was involved in a search of Brown’s apartment, which recovered a box of 9 mm ammunition and .38-cal. special ammunition, typically used in a revolver — which Brown used to shot at Snyder that night.

Christopher Christy, also an investigator, testified he and other investigators were looking for Leonard’s gun that was taken from the scene. They went to an apartment on Park Town Lane and passed a man in the hallway who told them he had what they wanted. They found the missing weapon, a black Taurus 9 mm, in a handkerchief or bandanna in his apartment.

Christy couldn’t recall the occupant’s name, but according to earlier testimony, Morrow took the gun and hid it from police.

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