Prosecutor says 2021 murder is about revenge, ‘a dish best served cold’

IOWA CITY — A prosecutor said the fatal shooting of an Iowa City man in 2021 is about revenge — specifically, an earlier shooting — and the failed attempts of the shooter to hide what he did.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold” means Renard Winfield Jr, 32, of Gary, Ind. — who is charged with fatally shooting Tommy Curry, 31, of Iowa City, on April 28, 2021 — didn’t go after Curry when expected. Instead, he waited and planned it out, Assistant Johnson County Attorney Jeffrey Brunelle said in his opening statement Wednesday.

Curry was waiting in his black SUV for a woman he had met on Plenty of Fish, a dating app, on April 28, 2021, in the parking lot of Meadow Lark Apartment Complex, 2400 Lakeside Dr. in Iowa City, Brunelle told jurors.

Neither Curry not Winfield lived in the apartment complex.

Curry thought he’d been texting with a woman, but was actually texting with Winfield, who lured Curry to that parking lot, Brunelle said. Curry had sent several texts to the woman, with the last one sent at 8:01 p.m. before he was shot.

‘Enormous’ amount of evidence

Winfield is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Curry. Jury selection started Tuesday in Johnson County District Court, and a jury was chosen Wednesday morning. The trial is expected to go into next week.

Winfield was arrested in 2021, but his trial was delayed 10 times because of scheduling conflicts and health issues.

The evidence will show Winfield had a gun and fired 15 9 mm bullets at Curry in a car before fleeing. Neighbors heard the gunshots and called police. Curry had died when police arrived.

Brunelle said this case has an “enormous” amount of evidence. Investigators collected 15 shell casings from the scene, and they discovered different brands of ammunition, with five blue-tip bullets had the same brand.

The evidence includes the text messages exchanged between Curry and another number, which told Curry where to go to meet a woman. Investigators eventually found out the phone number is Winfield’s.

Brunelle said the state also has witnesses and surveillance camera evidence that identify a white Dodge Journey SUV, registered to Winfield’s mother, leaving the scene after the shooting.

Revenge motive

The prosecutor said there also is evidence of revenge as a motive.

Winfield was shot in Iowa City in June 2020, and Curry was the person of interest in that case. He was never arrested because Winfield refused to cooperate with police.

Investigators had forgotten about the case because they couldn’t move forward on it, but Winfield didn’t forget, Brunelle said. Winfield found out Curry was on a dating app in January 2021, and Winfield decided to create an account posing as a woman. He arranged for the “woman” to meet Curry in the Meadow Lark complex parking lot, Brunelle said.

“The revenge he had planned was served cold” because Curry, who wasn’t armed, didn’t know it was Winfield arranging the meeting, Brunelle said.

Videos, other evidence

Search warrants were obtained for Winfield’s mother’s home and her SUV in Indiana. Investigators found evidence in the SUV of Winfield being in Iowa City on April 27, 2021, and they found a backpack with ammunition, which included the same brand with the blue synthetic coding on the bullets, as the ones found at the scene. Of those, five were missing from the box.

Videos were found showing Winfield waving a 9 mm gun and loading bullets with blue markings in Iowa City, Brunelle said. Those bullets are only sold at a few select places, including Scheels, and investigators obtained video from the store showing Winfield buying those kind of bullets.

‘Does this make sense?’

In the defense opening statement, Winfield’s lawyer, Chief Public Defender Michael Adams of the Special Defense Unit in Des Moines, reminded jurors of their duty, saying they were the judges of the case and it’s up to them to decide what happened.

He also pointed out the prosecution has the burden of proof and must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Winfield killed Curry. Winfield has no burden. The presumption of innocence remains with Winfield until the prosecution proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Adams asked the jurors to pay attention and listen intently to the evidence and testimony of witnesses. He told them to use their common sense and not be afraid to ask, “Does this make sense?”

Witnesses heard shots, saw vehicles

During testimony Wednesday, witnesses who lived at the Meadow Lark complex testified about what they heard and saw on April 28, 2021.

Savannah Norton, who lived in first floor apartment with her mother, said her mother had called 911 after hearing gunshots.

She was playing a video game at the time and wearing headphones. She was next to a window overlooking the parking lot and she heard loud popping shots, louder than the shooting in her video game, Norton testified. She then saw a white SUV leaving the complex, within less than a minute of hearing the gunshots.

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On cross-examination, Norton said she didn’t see who was shooting and didn’t see if the shots came from the SUV, but based on the timing of the shots, it’s the only vehicle she saw leaving the complex.

Kevin Alvarenga, who also lived om the complex, had walked outside to give his friend a tool from his van, and he first saw a black vehicle drive into a space and then it moved and backed into a space. The driver didn’t get out.

Alvarenga said he was talking to his friend, and they heard gunshots and he saw a person shooting multiple times at the black vehicle. The shooter had his face covered by a mask, he said.

The gun was black, and the shooter was also wearing black, Alvarenga said.

Alvarenga said he was scared and worried for his safety and went back inside. When he looked outside, the shooter was gone.

Maria Alvarez, who also lived at the complex with her two children, said she was cooking when she heard what she thought were fireworks. She told her girls to go look out the window to see them though they didn’t.

When she looked out, she saw a white vehicle in the parking lot that left quickly. She didn’t know what kind of vehicle it was, only that it was a “bigger” vehicle.

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