A jury began deliberating Tuesday, Aug. 18, on whether a Lansing man is guilty of involuntary manslaughter for a single punch that killed a 20-year-old outside Raising Cane's in downtown East Lansing in January 2025.

David Elliott Gaines Jr., 25, faces the charge in the death of Caleb Alan Shermoe, 20, of Fowlerville, who died Jan. 23, 2025, five days after being struck outside the restaurant at the 300 block of East Grand River Avenue, according to the Lansing State Journal.

The trial opened Aug. 11 before Ingham County Circuit Judge Morgan Cole. During opening statements, Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane told jurors the case came down to a single act of violence.

"This case is about one choice, one punch that resulted in one death," Dewane said during opening statements, according to Lansing State Journal reporting from the trial.

Dewane told jurors that Gaines sucker-punched Shermoe during a tense exchange outside the restaurant around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2025, knocking him unconscious. Shermoe fell backward and his head hit the concrete, causing brain trauma that led to his death. Prosecutors said Gaines initially shoved Shermoe to the ground, made a comment about knocking him out and told bystanders to turn off their phones before throwing the punch. A bystander video, prosecutors said, showed Gaines lunging toward Shermoe and striking him in the face.

According to evidence presented at a preliminary hearing, the altercation started when an intoxicated Shermoe tried to cut the line to join friends already inside the restaurant. A security guard escorted him back out, and an argument with two women in line resumed. Gaines then intervened.

Defense attorney Dustyn Coontz argued Gaines acted in defense of himself or others. Coontz also told jurors that doctors waited too long to perform brain imaging on Shermoe, calling the medical delay a superseding cause of death.

Gaines was arraigned on the manslaughter charge March 20, 2025, with bail set at $50,000, according to The State News. A judge ruled in May 2025 that enough evidence existed to send the case to trial.

Shermoe was not an MSU student, a university spokesperson told The State News in January 2025.

No verdict had been announced as of Wednesday, Aug. 19.