Courtesy photo Pamela Jeffery

John Wayne Jeffery

John Wayne Jeffery

Homicide

John Wayne Jeffery
31 YOA
1018 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1990-21313
May 29, 1990

Case summary by Nancy Bowers

At 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 30, 1990, 31-year-old John Wayne Jeffery was found dead in his car outside Leo’s Lounge at 1018 E. 12th Street in Des Moines, Iowa. He was shot in the head with a small caliber weapon.

A loaded sawed-off .410 shotgun was found in front of his car and shells for it were in his hand and on the car seat.

Neighbors and bar patrons heard a gunshot shortly before midnight on Tuesday and looked in Jeffery’s parked car to see if he was all right. He appeared to be asleep with his head resting on the back of the seat.

Courtesy photo Des Moines Register

Investigators examine John Jeffery's vehicle outside Leo's Lounge.

Eight hours later, the tavern operator arrived with supplies and saw him in the car. She yelled and banged against the door to wake him up, but realized when she touched him that he was dead.

John had a history with drugs and alcohol, but he successfully completed a rehabilitation program in 1989. The evening of the murder, he was drinking again for the first time since then. His wife Ruth was hospitalized in prior weeks and the medical bills piled up. The family was short on money because she could not work.

Ruth said that on the night of May 29, John came home agitated because he saw two friends -- Jeff McNeely and Tim McGreen -- drinking at Leo's in the company of Dianne Cross. Both men had owed him money for over a year; and he reasoned that if they had money to buy alcohol, they could repay him. When he confronted them, they laughed.

Courtesy photo Google Street View

The parking area outside Leo's Lounge where John Wayne Jeffery was shot.

John came home to 2108 E. Maple Street and got a shotgun, telling Ruth he just wanted to "scare them a little." Ruth said that he didn't have shells for the gun when he left home. She had a feeling she might not see him again.

Ruth believes that John waited outside Leo’s for the two men who owed him money to come out. One police theory was that the murderer took the shotgun away from John before killing him with another firearm.

Dianne Cross later said she saw John in his car with the shotgun and believed he was passed out, so she took the weapon and hid it in the bushes so “nobody would get hurt.” Although Cross was known to carry a handgun, she did not have one in her possession when questioned by police about the shooting.

There were few leads. Police issued a “stop and hold” order for a 6-foot-7, 250-pound man driving a white-over-blue older model Chevy Blazer. The man — Cary Lapour of 3833 E. Tiffin Avenue in Des Moines — was located at a northside tavern and arrested on a weapons charge. However, ballistic tests could not link him to John’s murder and Ruth does not believe he was involved.

Ruth heard that a man whose yard backed on to Leo’s parking lot witnessed the argument and shooting, but that he did not come forward out of fear of reprisal.

John Wayne Jeffery was born October 10, 1958 in Des Moines to John "Jack" and Valerie Jeffery. He had two siblings, Olan and Beverly. In March 1978, John and his teenaged wife Pamela had a daughter, Shannon Marie. They split up soon after her birth and he married Ruth Garrett on October 7, 1983. He and Ruth had two children, Shawn and Shaleen, in addition to her own two. John was a good and caring father.

John loved life and was known for his “big heart,” so his house was always full of friends. He was fond of music and stereo equipment. Mechanically adept, he was especially skilled at renovating cars and motorcycles. His special project was restoring a 1970 Chevy Chevelle. That was the car in which he died.    

His second wife, Ruth Jobe Jeffery, set up a memorial page with stories about John, as well as photos of him and his family at http://thedance.sugarmountainhome.com/John.html.

Sources:

“Man slain in car near D.M. Tavern, Des Moines Register, May 31, 1990.
Personal correspondence, Pamela Jeffery Chandler, May 2010.
Personal correspondence, Ruth Jeffery Jobe, June 2010.
“Weapon charge filed in probe of D.M. slaying,” Des Moines Register, June 1, 1990.

Page last updated: July 24, 2010