Friends Of Marquis Todd Testify To What Happened

Mikeal Donaldson was the first person to take the stand on Wednesday morning in the 2nd Degree Murder trial of Luke Vanhemert.

Law Enforcement also recount early parts of investigation.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Two friends of Marquis Todd testified on Wednesday that they only had one thing in mind when they stopped by the residence of Luke Vanhemert on March 1, 2018: to see if he and his friends would pay for damages done to his car after an accident.

“Why would they do this?” Mikeal Donaldson recounted his thought after his windshield was broken out by a stick and brick the evening of Marquis Todd’s death.

Donaldson said he returned to the William Penn University campus and showed two of his friends, D’Angelo Allen and Marquis Todd, his car and what had happened. All three decided to go back and talk to Vanhemert, and those who had been in the car with him, to confirm with them that they would reimburse Donaldson for the damages done to his car. However, after the three arrived at Vanhemert’s house and exited Donaldson’s car, things quickly took a turn. Donaldson said that after he asked why Vanhemert and his friend had damaged his car, Vanhemert “attacked” Todd.

“I just noticed they started scuffling,” Donaldson said.

Before long, Donaldson testified that he and Allen were fighting with Elijah Marcus. However, things ended when Donaldson said he heard Marquis Todd scream that he had been “tazed”.

“Me and D’Angelo proceeded to walk to Marquis, and then Marquis passed out,” Donaldson said. “He was snoring, kind of,” he added.

Donaldson recounted on Wednesday that he then drove off towards the Jiffy gas station, where he was initially headed when he got in the car accident. At the gas station, he was pulled over by multiple law enforcement officers, who had been alerted to the fight and the involvement of Donaldson, Allen, and Todd via a 911 call from Vanhemert’s father. After being detained and frisked, it was at that point that Donaldson and officers realized the extent of Todd’s injuries. Donaldson said he would not speak to Todd again, and was at the Jiffy station when he found out Todd had passed.

“I punched a wall,” Donaldson said of the moment he realized his friend was gone.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Allen Cook sought to poke holes in his testimony, by pointing out alleged inconsistencies in his initial police interviews and his testimony on the stand Wednesday. Cook noted that Donaldson initially told authorities that there was no actual damage to his car in the initial car accident itself.

“You attribute that to the adrenaline?” Cook asked.

“I would guess,” Donaldson responded.

Cook also asked Donaldson about his state of mind after the accident and subsequent damage to his windshield, noting that he stated in a deposition that he was angry with what had happened. Cook asked Donaldson if he was aware that by contacting law enforcement after the accident, he could have received assistance up to victim restitution from the police to pay for the damages to his car.

“If you would have contacted the police, does that make you less of a man for getting the police involved or handling it on your own?” Cook asked Donaldson.

“I really don’t know how to answer that question,” he responded.

Cook also questioned Donaldson about his actions after the police had been notified of the fight, noting that he pulled right up to a gas pump at Jiffy as the police located him and the occupants of his car.

“Were you hoping that the police weren’t going to notice you?” Cook asked Donaldson.

Donaldson denied trying to hide his presence from the police and denied charges from Cook that he refused to cooperate with the police after they were pulled over.

Also testifying Wednesday morning was D’Angelo Allen, the other passenger in Donaldson’s car who also participated in the fight. Allen described Todd as a “kind-hearted kid,” noting that he and Todd were fairly close and all three had played basketball together. Allen testified that his involvement in the events of that evening began when Mikeal Donaldson returned from what was supposed to be a Jiffy run and had instead turned into a car accident.

“He was in shock,” Allen recalled Donaldson feeling as he informed his friends of what had happened.

Allen recalled that he, Todd, and Donaldson all loaded up into Donaldson’s vehicle and set out to find the individual who hit his car. Allen said that, at the time, they were not sure what they were looking for.

“We didn’t have any idea where the house was. All we knew was it was a grey jeep,” Allen said.

He added that, as they found the house, all three exited the vehicle and Donaldson did the talking.

“It was like no one wanted to respond,” Allen said.

He added that out of nowhere, Vanhemert and Todd began fighting.

“There was like a strike, an attack,” Allen said.

On cross-examination, Allen became mildly combative with Cook at times, as Cook referred him to a portion of his deposition, where Cook claimed Allen told a police officer that “they could do that since we was on their property.”

Immediately prior to the lunch break, the 911 call from the night of the incident was played. During the nearly seven-minute call, an oftentimes unintelligible Stanley Vanhemert, father of Luke Vanhemert, recounted that “three black men beat up my son” and had then left their residence, with Vanhemert reporting that one of the men had been injured. The three men were later identified as Todd, Allen, and Donaldson.

Also testifying was Oskaloosa Police Lt. John Plumb, who was among the first responders to the scene. Plumb stated that he arrived at the Jiffy Mart as the vehicle driven by Donaldson was being pulled over. Plumb stated that, after confirming that all three men were still in the vehicle, he proceeded to the Vanhemert residence.

“The first thing we did was make sure no one was shot, stabbed, and made sure nobody had any weapons on them,” Plumb testified.

Plumb also said that he seized a sweatshirt from the Luke Vanhemert house that Vanhemert was wearing at the time of the fight.

Later, Wednesday afternoon, Lt. Gary McClun testified to his involvement in the case, stating that he arrived at the Vanhemert house and took initial statements from Vanhemert and those present. McClun testified that at no point did anyone say anything about having a weapon or having to use self-defense.

Rounding out the day’s testimony was testimony from two DCI criminalists, who testified to their involvement in the case, which largely included taking photos of Luke and Stanley Vanhemert, and testing for DNA on various pieces of evidence, including Vanhemert’s sweatshirt, and three sticks/stakes seized from the scene. The blood of Marquis Todd was found to be on the sweatshirt worn by Luke Vanhemert at the time of the incident, while no blood or DNA profiles were developed from the sticks/stakes, as well as a knife, that we’re tested, according to the criminalists.

Testimony will resume in the case at 9 a.m. on Thursday.