According to WHO 13, a 29-year-old Des Moines man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison, including a mandatory minimum of 12½ years, after pleading to two counts of first-degree robbery and willful injury causing bodily injury in cases involving an alleged beating at a city skate park and three alleged armed robberies at the same liquor store. Darius Stogner will receive credit for time already served as he begins the sentence.
Stogner entered a joint plea in both cases to two counts of first-degree robbery, felon in possession of a firearm, and willful injury causing bodily injury, according to WHO13. The court also ordered Stogner to pay pecuniary damages to the victims in both cases.
A Violent March Attack at Lauridsen Skate Park
The case traces back to March, when Stogner was identified as a suspect in an assault at Lauridsen Skate Park that left one person seriously injured. Criminal complaints state that Stogner punched the victim in the head multiple times until the victim fell unconscious, as reported by WHO 13. Investigators later recovered multiple cellphone recordings that authorities said supported a witness's claims about what happened.
According to KCCI, Stogner was later accused of a separate string of crimes tied to a liquor store along Hubbell Avenue. Authorities alleged three robberies took place at that same store, with Stogner armed with a handgun during each one.
Gun to a Worker's Head, Then a K-9 Track to an Apartment
In two of the three robberies, authorities alleged Stogner put the handgun to a worker's head and demanded money. Des Moines police announced his arrest in connection with those robberies in April, and the same month, officers served a search warrant at an apartment complex after a K-9 tracked the robbery suspect there, recovering a handgun in the process, per the same account.
Police charged Stogner with three counts of first-degree robbery, felon in possession of a firearm, and a misdemeanor drug charge, while he was separately arrested on willful injury charges tied to both the March and April cases, as noted by WHO 13. Willful injury causing bodily injury is classified as a class C felony.
From Not-Guilty Pleas to a Negotiated Deal
Stogner initially pleaded not guilty in both cases, and court records show the trials were delayed for several months while the parties negotiated and filed motions. By August, court documents state that a plea agreement had been reached covering both the skate park assault and the robbery spree, WHO 13 reported WHO 13.
At sentencing, the disposition cited the separate and serious nature of the offenses and said the 35-year term aligned with the terms of the plea agreement, per a report from WHO 13. The case was reported by WHO13's Rachael Kauffman.
