116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Home / News / Crime and Courts
Witness: Man who Duval Walker is accused of killing harassed her in 2022
Closing arguments in first-degree murder trial expected Tuesday afternoon
Trish Mehaffey
Mar. 11, 2024 7:21 pm, Updated: Mar. 12, 2024 8:13 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — A former girlfriend and mother of Duval Walker’s children testified Monday that the man Walker is accused of killing on St. Patrick’s Day last year had in 2022 followed her and brandished a gun while trying to get her to pull over her car.
Alexandra Smith, 29, of Cedar Rapids, said she became friends with Cameron Barnes because she worked with his girlfriend. But she stopped being friends in 2022 after she said she had a falling out with Barnes’ girlfriend over work issues at a restaurant.
Smith said Barnes sent her text messages because he was trying to contact Walker. Barnes followed her one day while Walker was in her car in February 2022. He drove up beside her car and motioned for her to lower her window and pull over.
Smith said Barnes brandished a gun, and she and Walker were scared. They drove to her residence and she called 911, she testified.
Lawyers for Walker, 30, who is on trial for first-degree murder and going armed with intent in the fatal shooting of Barnes, 32, at the Cocktails & Company bar in Marion, started their case late Monday after the prosecution rested. The defense rested after two witnesses. Walker will not testify, which is his right to do.
Closing arguments are set for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Linn County District Court.
In testimony from last week, the prosecution showed surveillance videos that show Walker starting a fight with Barnes, which escalated as Walker ultimately picked up a gun on the floor and fired a single fatal shot at Barnes.
Smith, during Monday’s testimony, also said Barnes drove by her apartment after a Cedar Rapids police officer arrived and was taking her statement about Barnes brandishing the gun that day in February 2022.
Smith admitted she didn’t tell the officer that Walker was her passenger that day. Assistant Linn County Attorney Andrew Powers, on cross examination, asked her why she didn’t she think it might be important, and she agreed it was.
On redirect, Smith said she was scared and didn’t think about telling the officer she had a passenger.
During her testimony, Smith admitted to having previous convictions of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, reckless use of a firearm causing bodily injury and accessory after the fact. Smith was convicted in 2019 of the accessory charge when she drove Andre Richardson, who fatally shot two people in a vehicle outside the Iowa Smoke Shop, 70 Kirkwood Ct. SW, on May 18, 2019.
Cedar Rapids police Officer Hallie Kephart testified she was dispatched to Smith’s residence in February 2022 on the brandished gun incident. The officer said Smith didn’t tell her she had a passenger that day. Kephart testified never saw Walker at Smith’s apartment that day.
The defense rested after Kephart testified.
In earlier testimony, Marion police Sgt. Nicole Hotz continued her testimony from Friday going over the video of the fatal shooting inside the bar. Images taken from the video were shown of Walker holding the gun down by his side before he fired the fatal shot.
The video also showed Walker running out of the bar after the shooting and getting into a Lincoln Aviator he was driving that night.
On cross, Hotz was asked to watch a portion of the video where Barnes’ friend, Demarrio Gibson, who also was involved in the fight to led up to the shooting, picked up Barnes’ coat and took it out to a car after Barnes was shot.
Hotz said she didn’t ask Gibson why he took Barnes coat.
Defense lawyer Nekedra Tucker asked why wouldn’t it have been be important to know why Gibson took Barnes’ coat — could it have had a gun in it? Hotz said she didn’t ask.
A criminalist from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation also testified that no DNA or latent prints were identified on the 9 mm shell casing found near Barnes’ body.
A plastic straw found in the Aviator, which was registered to another man but was driven that night by Walker, did have a mixture of DNA on it. Walker was identified at the major contributor, but the minor contributor was undetermined.
Cedar Rapids police Officer Michael Bailey also testified about some phone messages from Walker to his friend, Maurice Stone, after the shooting. They were difficult to hear, he said, but in one Walker said he “bagged” the victim.
Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com