Fort Dodge Man Sentenced To Half A Century On Murder Charge

The sentence stemming from a 2019 murder in Fort Dodge has been handed down. Damion Lamont Chavez has been sentenced to 50 years on a charge of 2nd degree murder. The charge stems from an incident that left Mohammed Yaqoub of Sioux Falls, South Dakota dead.

Chavez ebtered a guilty plea to the murder charge and in the plea deal the 1st degree robbery charge was dropped. Chavez and cohort Tate Martinson admittedly attempted to rob Yaqoub in a drug deal on the city’s west side in October 2019.

Martinson was not brought up on murder charges but did enter a guilty plea to a charge of 1st degree robbery. Earlier this year, Martinson was sentenced to 25 years.

Chavez said when he pulled a gun, Yaqoub grabbed it and that caused the gun to go off. He was pronounced dead after live saving measures were attempted. After the murder, Chavez fled Iowa and was captured in South Georgia. Chavez will have to serve a 50 year sentence before he has parole eligibility.