DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines man who was found guilty of shooting and killing a man at a hotel last year was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday.

In April 2024, officers with the Des Moines Police Department responded to a shooting at a hotel on the southwest side of the city. When first responders arrived, they found 30-year-old Sayvon Propps and 32-year-old Joshua Carmody in a hotel room suffering from gunshot wounds. Carmody was transported to a hospital in critical condition. Propps died from his injuries at the scene.

As the investigation into the shooting unfolded, officers learned that Carmody had forced his way into the hotel room that Propps and a female were staying in. According to the DMPD, Propps fired a gun at Carmody in self-defense and Carmody returned fire. Carmody was later charged with first-degree murder for Propps’ death.

According to the Polk County Attorney’s Office, during the first-degree murder trial the female who was at the hotel with Propps testified, saying that she and Carmody had been in an on-and-off relationship for about a year. She also stated that Carmody was upset when he discovered that she and Propps were at the hotel together.

In April, a Polk County jury found Carmody guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

At a sentencing hearing held on Tuesday a Polk County Judge ordered Carmody to serve concurrent sentences of life in prison for the first-degree murder charge, 25 years for burglary charge, and five years for the possession of a firearm charge.

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