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The LumberYard
1504 NE 54th Ave Des Moines, IA 50313

Des Monies 2AMer

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shadowcatAtlanta suburb

A man was shot and killed outside The Lumberyard, a northeast Polk County adult entertainment club, in the early hours of Saturday, Sept. 13.

Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded around 3:41 a.m. to a report of shots fired at 1504 NE 54th Ave. and found a dead man in the parking lot, according to a Saturday news release.

In an afternoon update, authorities said 30-year-old Derico Darrell Lowery of Des Moines was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held at the Polk County Jail.

The case appears to be an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public, authorities said.

The Lumberyard, a strip club that has operated since the early 2000s, has been the site of previous police reports.

In 2006, 27-year-old Luca Jon Pasa was stabbed to death in the club’s parking lot during a late-night altercation. Erik Gilge, 18, was arrested at the scene and later convicted of voluntary manslaughter. Pasa’s family filed a wrongful death suit against the club’s owners and security staff, alleging negligence, but a jury ruled in favor of the defendants, and the verdict was upheld on appeal.

Four years later, in 2010, deputies investigating a hit-and-run outside the club stopped a suspect who pointed a revolver at an officer before fleeing. That man, later identified as David Alexander Carroll, led law enforcement on a chase through Des Moines, tossing the handgun out of his van before being arrested. Carroll, a convicted felon, was later found guilty in federal court of unlawful possession of a firearm.

In 2017, deputies again responded to The Lumberyard when a fight between patrons in the parking lot ended with a 30-year-old man being stabbed in the arm, KCCI reported. The man was treated, while the person initially detained was released without charges.

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More recently, in 2022, the club was named in a federal lawsuit by models who alleged their images were used without permission in online promotions.

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