Two teens charged with murder in fatal shooting of 16-year-old in February

CEDAR RAPIDS — Michael Alexander McCune, 16, who was found Feb. 18, lying in an entryway of an apartment, was shot eight times and the fatal shot was to the top of his head, according to criminal complaint filed Friday.

One of two teens arrested Thursday, TraMontez Lockett, 16, of Cedar Rapids, was charged Friday during an initial appearance with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony, first-degree theft and going armed with intent.

Lockett appeared in person in Linn County District Court because he is being held in the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center pending trial. Lockett is being charged as an adult. Typically, defendants in district court appear by video for initial appearances.

Lockett’s lawyer waived the reading of the complaint during the hearing. Sixth Judicial Associate District Judge Russell Keast ordered a $1 million cash or surety bail for Lockett.

Dante Irvin, 15, the other teen arrested Thursday, was charged in Juvenile Court because of his age, but the Linn County Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to waive the case into adult court, Assistant Linn County Attorney Matt Kishinami said Friday. The waiver hearing will be set within 30 days.

Irvin faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and going armed with intent.

According to the complaint, police found McCune with eight gunshot wounds at the Tan Tara Apartments, 1640 F Ave. NW, just after 11:30 a.m. Feb. 18. He died at the scene.

During the investigation, it was determined that Lockett and three others conspired to kill McCune. Irvin may be one of those unnamed in the complaint, since he faces a murder charge.

No one else has been arrested at this time, but police said it is an ongoing investigation.

Lockett and one of those individuals were seen on video surveillance at the Kum & Go, 2604 16th Ave. SW, and identified as the two people who stole a 2019 Toyota RAV4 from that location the day of the fatal shooting.

Lockett and that individual then met up with two others and all four went to the Tan Tara Apartments in the stolen SUV, the complaint states.

McCune’s phone showed Lockett had been messaging him through Snapchat and arranged to pick up McCune at the apartments, so they could kill him, according to a search warrant affidavit and complaint.

Investigators found surveillance video of the stolen RAV4 near the apartment complex and also of Lockett and two of the individuals walking up to the complex, according to the complaint. When they saw McCune, the other two with Lockett started shooting McCune multiple times. One of those individuals ran into a building at 1640 F Ave. NW and continued to shoot McCune at close range.

This was around the same time 911 calls started coming in about a shooting at the apartment complex, according to the warrant affidavit. A witness described a gray Toyota RAV4 leaving the scene of the shooting.

Lockett and the others then left the scene in the stolen RAV4, according to the complaint.

A medical examiner said McCune was shot eight times and the gunshot to the top of his head was not “compatible with survival,” the complaint states.

The RAV4 was found in Maquoketa on Feb. 25, and police found a jacket in the SUV that they believe Lockett was wearing the night of the shooting. A phone number that came back to Lockett’s mother was paired with the SUV’s entertainment system, the warrant states.

On Feb. 28, Lockett was pulled over after leading police on a car chase in a different stolen vehicle. He admitted to police he had been with another person who stole the RAV4 but said he wasn’t the one driving, according to police.

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