Des Moines killing: Chicago man charged with murder left his wallet near crime scene, police say

Luke Nozicka
The Des Moines Register

Aaron Ross' girlfriend picked him up to run errands. 

It took the couple, who police said shared three children, several hours. When they returned to the area where Ross stayed on the east side of Des Moines, they sat and talked in the car for about 10 minutes — two of Ross' children, ages 7 and 1, in the back seat.

That's when Ross' girlfriend saw the gunman. 

Des Moines police investigate a shooting that killed a man Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, in the 1200 block of East 13th Street.

She ducked for cover as the skinny man in a white sweatshirt with black lines walked around a tree and fired into the car, shooting Ross several times, she told police. When officers arrived, they found Ross, 28, on the ground near the 2000 Ford Contour. 

Witnesses told police the shooter ran east from the car in the 1200 block of East 13th Street. Searching with a canine, officers found a black and green wallet in a nearby backyard — it contained an Illinois driver's license belonging to Tyrone Hughes Jr.

Hughes was arrested in Chicago this week and charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 30 killing of Ross, who was pronounced dead that day at a local hospital. 

Tyrone Hughes Jr. was arrested on Dec. 4 in Chicago, Illinois by Des Moines Police Department detectives for the shooting of Aaron Ross.

Police released little information about Hughes' charge, pending his extradition to Iowa. But in applications for search warrants, authorities said a confidential informant told detectives the killing may have stemmed from old gang ties Ross had in Chicago.

The wallet — which also contained Hughes' Social Security card and the debit cards of a man who said he was robbed a week earlier — did not appear to be wet when it was found in the grass, authorities said. It rained on and off that day, police said.

Authorities believe Hughes was at a hotel in Clive the day of the shooting. The room was rented by another Chicago man, who the informant said frequented Des Moines to rob drug dealers, according to court documents. 

A Snapchat video believed to be from Hughes' account showed the author at Sterling Hotel and Suites zooming in and out of a firearm, in part saying: "Wish a mother------ would touch my gun," police said.

Two videos — one from hotel security footage less than two hours before the shooting and the other from the night before at a strip club — appeared to show Hughes wearing the same clothing that matched descriptions provided by witnesses to the killing, authorities said.

A police officer then took two photographs of Hughes to a witness, who identified Hughes as the man she saw shoot Ross in the city's Capitol Park neighborhood, court records show. 

As part of the investigation, detectives searched the social media accounts of several people involved, including private messages. Hughes' page showed images of him displaying gang signs and holding firearms, police said.

Police have identified Aaron John Ross, of Des Moines, as the victim in a Sunday, Sept. 30, shooting.

The informant said Ross had belonged to the "Dro City" gang sub-faction; one of the men seen on video with Hughes belonged to the "Young Money" gang. Des Moines police described the gangs as rivals that operate in Chicago. 

Des Moines police were assisted in arresting Hughes by Chicago police's fugitive apprehension unit. He did not have an attorney who could be reached for comment. 

At the shooting, the front passenger’s door was broken and blood could be seen in the seat, a detective said. Shell casings from a .357 Sig round were found near the car. 

Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek has said the killing, the city's ninth of 2018, appeared to be directed. The children and Ross' 25-year-old girlfriend were not injured, he said. 

By that time last year, 24 people had been killed in Des Moines. The city ended 2017 with 25 homicides, the most since 1978 when 27 people were slain, police said.

Check back for updates.

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