A 19-year-old Des Moines man confessed to shooting his girlfriend’s sister with an AR-15-style rifle to scare her, according to the Polk County Attorney’s Office.
Demonie Catrell Smith was sentenced Friday, Nov. 14 to up to 35 years in prison. Smith pleaded guilty to going armed with intent, willful injury causing serious injury, assault while participating in a felony and intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent to injure or provoke fear.
The original charge of attempted murder was dropped as part of the plea agreement, according to a news release from the Polk County Attorney’s Office.
As part of his sentence, Smith will serve a mandatory five years in prison because he used a dangerous weapon.
On March 10, prosecutors said Smith was arguing with his girlfriend near Boston Avenue and 26th Place on Des Moines’ north side.
The girlfriend’s sister, Shanice Perry, intervened, and later approached her sister by car to check in on her. The defendant then fired multiple gunshots from an AR-15 into Perry’s vehicle.
The vehicle was struck at least seven times and Perry suffered three gunshot wounds to her back.
Smith admitted to firing the rifle into the vehicle and injuring Perry, and told the court he did so to “scare her,” according to the release.
“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done,” Smith said in court, the news release said.
In her victim impact statement, Perry said she drove herself to Broadlawns Medical Center despite being in overwhelming pain “because I needed to protect my children and because I believed I could get help faster,” according to the release.
“I praise God I was not paralyzed,” she said.
Perry said she suffers panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder and other complications from the shooting.
“I will live with fragments in my body for the rest of my life,” she said.
She said she forgives Smith.
“My forgiveness is a personal decision to protect my own peace and to set a hopeful example for my sons about choosing mercy over bitterness,” she said. “Forgiveness does not mean I am unaware of the harm done or that I condone it. It means I am choosing to move forward with the intention of healing physically, emotionally, and spiritually for the sake of my children and those who support me.”
District Judge Paul Scott commended Perry for her statement, saying it was rare for a victim to express forgiveness.
“It takes a lot of strength,” he told her.
Thai Theodoro is a reporter at The Des Moines Register. Reach her at ttheodoro@gannett.com. Follow her on X, previously Twitter, at @thaiiswriting.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 19-year-old pleads guilty, gets 35 years for shooting girlfriend’s sister with AR-15
Reporting by Thai Theodoro, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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