Edmanuel Perez

Edmanuel “Manny” Perez, a 21-year-old Hispanic man, moved to Des Moines, Iowa, from the Bronx five years before his death, seeking a safer life. He had been robbed at gunpoint in New York and found refuge with his older sister, Sindy Sanchez. He was soon joined by his girlfriend, Carla Garcia, who was pregnant with their first child. Edmanuel and Carla graduated together from a West Des Moines alternative school in 2013. In his graduation speech, he spoke of wanting more for his family and showing his baby girl that her daddy was successful. His world revolved around Carla and their daughter, Esette. Known as "Fat Boy" to his sister and “squishy bear” to his daughter, the 5-foot-11, 300-pound man was an avid mechanic who worked for U-Haul and loved his yellow-and-black Chevy Camaro. The youngest of 11 children from a Puerto Rican family, Manny had overcome several near-death experiences, including heart failure at birth, severe burns as a toddler, and a major leg injury in 2013 that left him with a permanent limp.

In the early morning of Sunday, November 29, 2015, Edmanuel’s life came to a violent end. He had initially stayed at a friend’s apartment that night because his leg was bothering him, but he decided to go downtown to the Court Avenue entertainment district just before midnight. His brother, Eddie Perez-Bruno, was visiting from New York for Thanksgiving, and it was his last night in town. Around 1:10 a.m., Edmanuel’s group, which included his brother and a friend, Andrew Hurley-Boyd, encountered another group that included a man named Dre'Sean Barber. Edmanuel and Barber had a history stemming from an altercation in 2013, and family members said Barber had harbored a grudge.

Witnesses stated that Edmanuel and his friends were at Carbon, a bar at 216 Court Avenue. When they tried to leave, Barber's group reportedly blocked the exit. The conflict moved outside, where an argument escalated into a fight. During the chaos, three gunshots were fired. One shot went into the air, one struck Edmanuel Perez, and one hit 23-year-old Andrew Hurley-Boyd. Des Moines police officers responded to find both men on the ground with gunshot wounds. They were rushed to a hospital, but Edmanuel Perez did not survive his injuries. His death was the 17th homicide in Des Moines that year.

Sindy Sanchez and Carla Garcia, who was eight months pregnant with the couple's second daughter, rushed to the hospital after a frantic phone call. After being given initial hope that he might survive, a doctor delivered the devastating news. “I kept saying keep trying, keep trying. He always pulls through,” Carla recalled telling them. Sindy remembered screaming on the hospital floor, tormented by the fact that she had brought her brother to Des Moines to keep him safe. The family later placed a memorial with candles and photos near the scene of the shooting and held services in both Des Moines and New York.

The Des Moines Police Department investigated the shooting, and six days later, on December 5, 2015, they arrested 24-year-old Dre'Sean Maurice Barber. He was charged with first-degree murder for Edmanuel’s death and attempted murder for the shooting of Andrew Hurley-Boyd. The case went to trial nearly two years later.

In October 2017, a Polk County jury found Dre'Sean Barber, then 26, guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder in the death of Edmanuel Perez. He was also found guilty of assault with intent to inflict serious injury for shooting Andrew Hurley-Boyd. On November 17, 2017, a judge sentenced Barber to a prison term of up to 50 years for the murder and a consecutive two-year term for the assault, for a total of up to 52 years. Under Iowa law, he must serve at least 70 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole. The case is considered solved and closed.

The loss left Edmanuel’s family shattered. Carla Garcia was left to raise their 4-year-old daughter, Esette, and prepare for the birth of a second daughter who would never meet her father. Esette would often cling to a teddy bear with a voice recording that said, “I love you, Daddy,” and cry, asking, “Why did the bad guy take daddy?” Carla struggled to answer the question for her daughter while grappling with her own immense grief. “It just hurts because you’re not even coping with it well,” she said. “So it’s like how can you love her, when you don’t even know how to help yourself?”