Dimitri Craig-Lee English, a 26-year-old securities operations specialist who grew up in Des Moines, was allegedly kicked, stomped and punched by five people in an alley behind a bar in the city’s downtown entertainment district on July 5. He made his way back home to Minneapolis afterward, only to be found dead there nine days later. Two men now face second-degree murder charges, and a third suspect remains at large.
Des Moines police arrested Tyrus Bassette, 22, and Tavon Campbell, 25, both of Des Moines, and charged them with second-degree murder, according to the Star Tribune. Both men are being held without bail in the Polk County jail, and no court hearings had been scheduled for either of them at the time of publication, the paper reported. Police also issued an arrest warrant for a third suspect, 24-year-old Tyrice Bassette, who is believed to be in the Des Moines area; he and Tyrus Bassette are brothers, per the same report.
English was found dead in his Minneapolis home on July 14. Des Moines police told KDSM 17 that they only learned of the death two days later. “We were contacted by Minneapolis police on the 16th of July and notified of the death,” a department spokesperson said. Investigators determined that English had been overwhelmed and assaulted by several people following a confrontation, according to the station’s report.
An Alley Confrontation, Then a Fatal Beating
According to the Star Tribune’s account, English was kicked, stomped and punched by five individuals while he was on the ground and defenseless, a characterization attributed to a police statement. An exchange of words preceded the attack, the report says, though the motive remains unconfirmed. The altercation happened near the 200 block of Court Avenue before English made his way back to Minneapolis, according to WHO 13, which reported the incident date as July 5…