3rd man pleads guilty in Davenport shooting death

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) – The last of three men charged in the March 2017 shooting death of 18-year-old Demetrius Allen has pleaded guilty.

Scott County Court records show Darryl Merritt, 25, of Cahokia, Illinois, pleaded guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter, a Class C felony punishable by 10 years in prison, and first-degree robbery, a Class B felony punishable by 25 years in prison.

According to a written plea agreement, both charges are forcible felonies and prison is mandatory.

He will have to serve 50% of the sentence on the robbery charge, according to the plea agreement.

Sentencing is slated for Sept. 30.

On March 5, 2017, Davenport police responded to a shooting at the Brady Street Stadium parking lot and found Allen dead. He had been shot multiple times.

The three were arrested in 2020.

According to an arrest affidavit, Merritt and co-defendants Dyon Armongelo Thomas and Chontez Lamont Graham “willfully and with premeditation” killed Allen during a robbery and took cash and personal belongings.

Graham, 26, of Jefferson City, Missouri, pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and flight to avoid prosecution.

In March, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison on the murder charge, 25 years on the robbery charge and five years on the flight charge. The charges will run concurrently, or at the same time, court records show.

Thomas, 24, of East St. Louis, pleaded guilty in November to accessory after the fact. He will be sentenced Aug. 10.