Self-defense or murder? Attorneys outline arguments in Cedar Rapids murder trial

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) — A Cedar Rapids jury heard opening statements Monday in the murder trial of Kaleek Lewis, accused of shooting and killing 23-year-old Dedric Arnold last year.

Lewis is charged with first-degree murder in Arnold’s death. A conviction carries an automatic life sentence in Iowa.

Both the state and the defense agree Lewis fatally shot Arnold — but disagree on why.

What prosecutors say

Arnold and his friend Morris Gray went to Lewis’ home looking for their wallets. Prosecutors say the two were unarmed and not looking for a fight.

About an hour and a half before they arrived, prosecutors say Lewis threatened them through text messages.

“He tells him, I know what’s going to happen. You’re going to walk up and I’m going to shoot you for getting too close, you must not get it. The defendant knew exactly what he was going to do,” said Andrew Powers with the Linn County Attorney’s Office.

What the defense says

Defense attorney Nekeidra Tucker says the men involved had a contentious relationship going back to a high school fight between Lewis and Gray. She says Arnold and Gray also threatened Lewis at 2025’s the Market After Dark in downtown Cedar Rapids last year.

Tucker says when the two men reached Lewis’ driveway, he feared for his life and fired four warning shots. The defense says one accidentally hit Arnold in the neck.

“And once they stop, Mr. Lewis did not fire another shot. The threat was stopped. They were stopped. When he saw that they were not continuing to go forward, that they weren’t coming after him anymore, he takes the weapon inside,” Tucker said.

Key witness testimony

Morris Gray and Taryn Jahnke were among those who testified Monday.

Gray says he messaged Lewis after seeing him drive by on a moped, suspecting he had something to do with his missing wallet. The texts show the two exchanging threats before the men headed to Lewis’ home.

“We didn’t get to exchange words — he just said ‘Get off my lawn’ or something and started shooting,” Gray testified.

The jury also reviewed surveillance video of the incident.

Jahnke, who was friends with Lewis’ girlfriend at the time, drove Arnold and Gray to Lewis’ home. From the car, she heard the shots and tried to rush Arnold to the hospital.

“Dedric was on the ground covered in blood and Morris was standing over top of him,” Jahnke testified.

Court resumes Tuesday morning. Trust KCRG-TV9 for continuing coverage of the trial.