A Waterloo jury convicted Martavious Reed of first-degree murder in the shift-change shooting of Dipree Jones outside Ryder Logistics.

The defense never claimed someone else pulled the trigger. Its whole case was intent: Reed said he wore a ski mask and pointed a loaded gun only to scare a man over a months-old flirtation with his girlfriend. The jury did not buy it. Texts asking for Jones' description hours earlier, and a witness who said he kept pulling the trigger, gave prosecutors the premeditation story they needed.

A Black Hawk County jury on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, convicted Martavious Reed of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Dipree Jones, KCRG reported. The verdict came after a four-day trial, the station reported. A first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence in Iowa, and Reed will be sentenced at a later date, KCRG reported.

Authorities said Reed, 23, shot Jones shortly before 10 p.m. on March 26, 2025, during shift change at Ryder Logistics in Waterloo, then fled into a wooded area where he changed out of his jacket and sweatpants and ditched the mask and gun, The Courier reported. He was detained when he came out of the woods, according to The Courier. Jones' girlfriend, Evelina Nix, testified, "He didn't waste no time pulling a gun out. He didn't waste no time at all, and it happened in just a matter of seconds. He pulled the trigger and left from there," KCRG reported.

Reed's girlfriend, Yolanda McCray, also known as Yolanda Brewer, testified that Reed asked her for a description of Jones hours before the shooting, The Courier reported. Reed testified Monday that he was only trying to scare Jones and shot him accidentally, according to The Courier. He said his girlfriend had told him a co-worker at the warehouse had asked her out months earlier, and that they argued about it the night before the shooting after he checked her phone's location data, The Courier reported. Defense attorney Kimberly DePalma conceded in opening statements that Reed shot Jones but said he did not intend to kill him, according to The Courier.

In closing arguments, Assistant County Attorney Heather Jackson said Reed's intent to kill was evident because he brought a loaded gun and because a witness said he kept pulling the trigger after the shot without results, The Courier reported. Waterloo police Det. David McFarland testified that Reed denied being at Ryder the night of the shooting, The Courier reported. The verdict can still be challenged on appeal. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.