Lawsuits over Roosevelt High shooting in Des Moines settled

A Des Moines man who was ticketed for throwing a party after a school dance where three people were shot has settled two lawsuits involving the injured guests.

The May 8, 2022, shooting at a home on Foster Drive left three people injured and prompted extra security measures at Roosevelt High School, where most of the attendees were students. Officers responding to the attack found 200 people inside the home, mostly teenagers, many of whom had brought alcohol or were drinking at the party.

Prosecutors have charged Jaren Rhoden and Terrance Johnson-Rawls, neither of whom was a Roosevelt student, in the shooting. But they have also filed charges against Jeffery Stickel, the party’s host, accusing him of maintaining a disorderly house. The complaint, filed in April 2023, alleges that Stickel not only knew minors were drinking at the party, but that witnesses say he personally served alcoholic sodas to attendees.

Stickel was convicted after a jury trial and fined $200 plus court costs and surcharges. Rhoden and Johnson-Rawls, the shooters, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 10 years in prison; Johnson-Rawls’s sentence will run concurrently with a prison sentence he is serving on unrelated federal charges.

Two lawsuits settled before trial

Stickel and his wife and son were also sued by two of the injured guests.

Jaray Mandosia, a Roosevelt senior at the time, alleged in his complaint that the Stickels provided alcohol to attendees as part of their entrance fee to the party and were actively involved in serving, providing and cleaning up trash from the drinking attendees. Mandosia said he attempted to flee when gunfire broke out but was shot in the elbow, causing him to sustain permanent injuries and lose his scholarship offers to play college football.

Wade, also a Roosevelt student at the time of the shooting, similarly describes how the Stickels encouraged underage partygoers to drink. According to his complaint, he was shot in the leg while trying to flee from gunfire, suffered significant blood loss, and continues to suffer from the effects of bullet fragments lodged in his leg.

Both lawsuits have since been settled; Wade’s in May and Mandosia’s last week. The settlement amounts are not disclosed in court documents.

An attorney for Mandosia declined to comment on his case, citing the confidentiality of the settlement. Attorneys for Wade and the Stickels did not respond to messages from the Register.

William Morris covers court for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at [email protected] or 715-573-8166.