(Council Bluffs) The Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office says 30-year-old Dequanta Roland Zachary, of Eunice, Louisiana, was convicted by a Pottawattamie County Jury on Monday on two counts of Murder in the First Degree, one count of Theft in the First Degree, and one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
Murder in the First Degree carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Theft in the First Degree carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison, and Felon in Possession carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. A sentencing hearing is set for December 5th at 9:30 a.m.
The investigation of Dequanta Zachary began when a gunshot victim, 36-year-old Deonte Ivory of Omaha, Nebraska, was found deceased in the 2100 block of South 29th Street in Council Bluffs near Tyson Foods in the early morning hours of April 28, 2024. A second gunshot victim, 25-year-old Michael Anderson of Omaha, Nebraska, was found later that same morning on the driveway of the Western Historic Trails Center. An abandoned bullet-ridden 2023 Dodge Charger was discovered the next day in a rural area outside of Glenwood with a partially burned shirt hanging out of the gas tank.
A combination of cell phone records, social media and surveillance videos, witness statements, crime scene investigation and an interview with the defendant led to arrest warrants being obtained on May 3rd. A DNA test later found one of the victim’s blood on the Defendant’s clothing. The Council Bluffs Police Department led this investigation, with assistance from the FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team and the Iowa DCI Crime Laboratory.
The case was tried by Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber and Chief Deputy County Attorney Jon Jacobmeier. Zachary was represented by attorneys Chad Primmer and Seyi Olowolafe. The investigation was spearheaded by the officers with the Council Bluffs Police Department, particularly Detectives Taylor Coffey, Adam Gau, Jim Springman, Jon Clark and Anthony Fletcher. Also instrumental in bringing this case to trial was the work of CBPD Identification Technicians Cassie Salter and Laura Rutledge.
Jury selection was completed on Monday, October 14th, the State’s case was presented through Monday morning, and closing arguments were completed later Monday afternoon. The jury deliberated approximately one hour before returning a guilty verdict.
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said, “The evidence in this case was overwhelming and this is due to the thorough and professional investigation by the Council Bluffs Police Department. There were approximately 7,000 pages in this investigation file, and bringing a double murder case from date of death to trial in less than six months is only possible with that level of dedication by our local law enforcement personnel. As is usually the case today, these murders were solved by dogged and persistent police work. I am grateful to the detectives for their efforts, particularly lead detective Taylor Coffey. Double murders do not generally happen in Council Bluffs – in fact, I think this is the only double homicide case I have tried in my 22 years as County Attorney. I am happy to bring some measure of comfort to the families of Deonte and Michael, and to have brought their killer to justice.”
