Jordan Isaac Carmi admitted handling a loaded gun while intoxicated before Tony Young was fatally shot on New Year’s Day.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A 31-year-old Des Moines man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to three crimes arising from the fatal New Year’s Day shooting of his friend, a killing he told the court happened when he pointed a loaded gun in an attempt to stop an argument.

Jordan Isaac Carmi pleaded guilty to reckless use of a firearm causing serious injury, involuntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm as a felon in the death of 30-year-old Tony Alexander Young. District Judge Samantha Gronewald imposed the prison sentence July 10, according to the Polk County Attorney’s Office. Carmi also was ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to Young’s estate. The sentencing closed the main criminal case against Carmi about six months after prosecutors initially accused him of first-degree murder.

Carmi gave the judge a lengthy account of the events leading to the shooting, according to prosecutors. He said he and Young had spent the night celebrating the new year at bars in downtown Des Moines before returning to the area of Carmi’s apartment in the 300 block of Court Avenue. Several people became involved in an argument outside or near the apartment. Carmi said some members of the group initially refused to leave his home, prompting him to retrieve a gun. They eventually departed, but the confrontation did not fully end. After the others left, Carmi said he and Young discussed whether they should go after the group. Carmi told the court that he tried to bring that discussion to a stop by aiming the weapon at his friend. “I thought I could end the conversation by pointing the gun at him,” Carmi said, according to the prosecutor’s office. He acknowledged that he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs while handling the loaded firearm, conduct he described in court as “incredibly stupid.” The weapon discharged, striking Young.

“I accidentally shot my friend,” Carmi told Gronewald. His description addressed his stated intention, but it did not remove his criminal responsibility. Under Iowa law, involuntary manslaughter can apply when a person unintentionally causes another person’s death while committing a public offense other than a forcible felony or escape. The reckless-firearm charge separately addressed the handling and discharge of the weapon, while the possession charge was based on Carmi’s status as a person with a prior felony conviction.

The guilty pleas marked a major change from the accusation Carmi faced immediately after the shooting. Police initially arrested him on a first-degree murder charge, one of the most serious offenses under Iowa law. The later resolution did not require a trial on that accusation. Instead, Carmi admitted the three reduced charges, allowing the court to proceed to sentencing based on the plea agreement, the established record and information presented by prosecutors, the defense and Young’s family.

The county attorney’s account said Carmi had a prior felony conviction from Utah in 2016 for possession of drugs with intent to distribute. That conviction made his possession of the firearm a separate criminal offense in Iowa. State law generally prohibits a person convicted of a felony from knowingly possessing or controlling a firearm unless the person’s rights have been restored or another legal exception applies. Authorities have not publicly detailed how or when Carmi obtained the gun used in Young’s death.

At sentencing, Carmi said Young bore no blame for what happened. “I need everyone to understand in no uncertain terms that Tony did not deserve what happened to him,” he said, according to prosecutors. His statement of remorse came as Young’s relatives described a loss that extended well beyond the facts contained in the criminal charges. Their statements focused on Young’s role as a son, father and companion, and on the permanent effect of his absence from the family.

Young’s mother, Yvette Young, described her son in court as a loving father with a “vibrant, effervescent personality.” She said his presence had filled her home with music. “He always brought music to my house, and now there is none,” she said, according to the prosecutor’s office. The statement gave the court a view of Young that the charging documents and legal terms could not provide. It also placed the consequences of the shooting at the center of the proceeding before the prison term was imposed.

Young’s girlfriend told the court that their child was trying to understand why his father would not return home. She described the boy as having received “a life sentence of grief.” Young’s father, also named Tony Young, addressed Carmi with a different message. He said he would pray for him and hoped the years in prison would be used for honest reflection. “I want you to spend enough time to truly, truly reflect and be the person you say you want to be,” he said, according to prosecutors.

An obituary published by Hamilton’s Funeral Home said Tony Alexander Young was born Dec. 26, 1995, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and later graduated from Lincoln High School in Des Moines. He enjoyed rap music, dancing, football and spending time with friends. The obituary said he especially valued time with his son, Jakari, including playing video games and preparing food together. Young was survived by his son, his parents, six siblings and an extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Young was taken to UnityPoint Des Moines Methodist Medical Center after the shooting and died Jan. 1, according to his obituary and contemporaneous reports. Authorities described his death as Des Moines’ first homicide of 2026. Carmi was detained at the scene and initially booked on the murder accusation. The available public accounts do not identify a dispute over who fired the shot. The later legal dispute centered instead on the level of criminal responsibility supported by Carmi’s conduct and state law.

The 20-year term reflects the combined sentence imposed for the offenses to which Carmi pleaded guilty. Public summaries of the proceeding do not provide a count-by-count breakdown of how the court arranged the prison terms or specify when Carmi may first become eligible for release. Eligibility questions can depend on the judgment, credit for time served and Iowa correctional rules. The sentencing announcement establishes the total term but does not answer every question about how long Carmi ultimately will remain in state custody.

The $150,000 restitution order is separate from the prison sentence. Iowa law provides for restitution when a defendant is convicted of a felony that caused another person’s death. Such an order creates a financial obligation to the victim’s estate, though it cannot restore the life that was lost. The public sentencing account did not identify additional restitution for funeral, medical or other documented expenses, and it did not state what resources Carmi has available to satisfy the judgment.

The sentence leaves two sharply different realities in the record: Carmi’s acknowledgment that he did not intend to shoot his friend and the court’s determination that his choices still warranted two decades in prison. His own statement traced the fatal sequence to intoxication, a loaded gun and an attempt to control a conversation through the threat of force. Young’s relatives, meanwhile, asked the court to measure the case not only through criminal statutes but through the continuing absence experienced by his son and family. Carmi will serve his sentence in the Iowa correctional system and remains responsible for the restitution ordered by the court. No further trial is expected because of his guilty pleas. The publicly released record does not indicate that an appeal has been filed. For Young’s family, the criminal proceeding has reached its central legal conclusion, while the effects described at sentencing will continue beyond the case’s formal end.

Author note: Last updated August 5, 2026.