A verbal spat between two telecoms employees led to one of the men being shot dead at a cell tower site in Iowa.

As reported by Norfolk Daily News, David Phillips Jr. is accused of killing Israel Matos-Colon on March 1, 2023. Both men worked for BULT Wireless, a telecoms company that no longer exists.

Phillips Jr, 22, of Kenner, Louisiana, is charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm to commit a felony, plus possession of a stolen firearm in connection to the death of Matos-Colon, 31.

The case is currently being heard in a Cedar County court. Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Mary Marcum said in her opening statement that evidence shows that several employees of BULT Wireless, headquartered in Iowa, showed up at 56329 885th Road northeast of Hartington on the morning of March 1, 2023.

“This case is about the verbal spat between two coworkers which escalated to a killing,” Marcum said.

Some of the employees worked on the ground, while others with the appropriate certifications could climb cell towers.

It's noted that two BULT Wireless crews went to the site that morning, including Phillips and Matos-Colon.

It's alleged that Matos-Colon expressed concern to others there about climbing the tower with Phillips, leading to a verbal altercation between the two, which required colleagues to separate the duo, said Marcum.

The two split up for a few minutes before the argument continued again. Shortly after this, someone was heard to say "mom," before a series of gunshots went off. One witness then saw Matos-Colon running, while Phillips went the opposite direction.

One coworker applied CPR to Matos-Colon, who was struggling to breathe, and another employee searched for a first aid kit.

Phillips approached and said something about going to New Orleans, Marcum said, noting that Phillips made another statement, something to the effect of, “He (Matos-Calon) said something about my (expletive) mother, and that (expletive) has to die.”

One of the workers called 911 and informed the company's vice president, Ashlee Verhoek, who wasn't at the site at the time.

Law enforcement arrived shortly after before Matos-Colon was transported to a hospital in Yankton. He was pronounced dead a short time after at 10:19 am.

Police located six empty 9mm shell casings and one live round at the cell tower site. Phillips' cell phone showed photos of him holding a Glock firearm before the day of the shooting.

Marcum added that a pathologist will testify that Matos-Colon’s cause of death was gunshot wounds to his torso and right leg.

Marcum told jurors that 14 or 15 witnesses would testify during the trial, which is expected to last through the end of the week.

The case is being prosecuted by Marcum, Corey O’Brien, and Mariah Nickel, all of whom work for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.

Phillips' attorney, Todd Lanaster, said that the defense is trying to determine Phillips' mindset at the time of the shooting.

“There’s not going to be a lot of doubt that Mr. Phillips is the one that fired the firearm at Israel Matos-Colon,” Lanaster said. “So it’s not that, that we’re really here to determine. What we’re here to determine is what Mr. Phillips’ mindset was when that happened.”

Lanaster has suggested that some of the statements given by the witnesses may be biased and inconsistent.

Evidence in the trial is set to be heard this week.

According to LinkedIn, BULT Wireless, employed between 11 to 50 people, and was a provider of telecommunications infrastructure construction services. The website for the company, which was founded in 2021, is no longer active.