A teenager, Hamazah Tandia, aged 17, has been handed a prison sentence of up to 10 years for shooting a man in Burlington last July. The sentence was delivered at the Des Moines County Courthouse earlier this week.
The incident took place on July 25th when the Burlington police responded to a call regarding shots being fired in the vicinity of S. 8th Street and Elm Street. Subsequently, another call came in reporting a male entering Dollar General with a gunshot wound. The victim, identified as Terence Gordon, 32, from Burlington, had sustained three gunshot wounds but fortunately survived after being rushed to the hospital.
During the police investigation, a Ford Edge was discovered in the Dollar General parking lot with bullet holes at the back and along the passenger side, with the back-passenger window shattered. The authorities found seven .380 caliber Blazer spent shell casings at the scene of the shooting near the intersection of 8th and Elm streets.
Witnesses in the area provided valuable information to the investigators, leading to the arrest of Immanuel Lovell Johnson, 18, who was found in possession of a black .380 caliber pistol and a box of .380 caliber Blazer bullets. Further evidence was obtained from a dash cam video from a vehicle parked near the intersection, showing three males standing together and Johnson handing a gun to Tandia. Tandia then proceeded to fire the gun approximately seven times at the passenger side of the Ford, hitting Gordon three times before fleeing the scene along with the other two males.
Following an anonymous tip and the identification of Tandia as a suspect, he turned himself in to the police on July 30th. Both Tandia and Johnson were initially charged with attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and willful injury. However, as part of plea agreements, they both pleaded guilty to the intimidation and willful injury charges on January 22nd.
In addition to the prison sentence, Tandia was ordered to pay a fine of $2,740, submit a physical specimen for DNA profiling, and is prohibited from owning firearms in the future. He has already been transferred to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale to commence his term.
Tandia was represented by attorney Heidi Van Winkle, with District Eight Judge John Wright presiding over the case. Johnson’s sentencing is scheduled for March 25th at the Des Moines County Courthouse..
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