Bachman, of Fort Dodge, was found guilty of first degree murder on Oct. 30 following a jury trial. He was convicted of shooting James four times on June 17, 2023, in the 1200 block of First Avenue North.

Bachman and his attorney, Judd Parker, had asked the court to award him a new trial, stating that Bachman “did not receive a fair trial.” Parker argued that prosecutors had made improper arguments and actions, limited testimony by one of the defense’s witnesses, and had a changing definition of “malice aforethought.”

District Court Judge Christopher Polking ruled against the request for a new trial and sentenced Bachman to the mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

“I’m sorry to everyone involved in the situation,” said Bachman to the court. “I never meant for any of this to happen. I never wanted any of this to happen. I pray that you can forgive me one day and I truly am deeply sorry that this happened to Dakari. I never wanted it. He was my friend, almost like my little brother, and I’m just sorry to my family and to Dakari’s family that this happened. I’m very remorseful. I’m sorry for sending the messages while I was in jail that were mocking. That’s not actually how I feel. I’m very sorry.”

Jill James, Dakari James’ mother stated, “it did not have to happen this way.”

Webster County Assistant County Attorney Bailey Taylor read a victim impact statement written by James’ grandmother, Dorothy James, who stated that while growing up in the Deep South, Dakari’s great-great-grandfather was pulled from his home, beaten, shot, and lynched while being called the same racist slurs that were said to Dakari James during the 2023 incident.

“Can you imagine being called names that have only one purpose, to cause pain?” Dorothy James wrote. “And if that wasn’t enough, to have your precious, precious life violently taken from you. Here we are in 2023 and 2024 still dealing with the same thing. … When will we all agree that men of color have given enough blood to satisfy these acts of slinging words of hatred and ignorance? Sticks and stones can break my bones, yes, and the words can hurt and kill me. I am Dakari’s grandmother, and your hatred took him from us. When will it end?”

Polking, just before sentencing Bachman, stated “this case is a tragedy. Two lives have now been traded in because of an exchange of messages on Snapchat. And for what?”

Immediately following sentencing, Bachman was transferred to the Iowa Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.