In the quiet city of Spartanburg, South Carolina, the life of 19-year-old Kiyounne Duranne Jackson, a young Black male, was tragically cut short on November 27, 2017. Responding to reports of gunfire, police discovered Jackson's body on the floor of a vacant home on Fisher Avenue, bearing multiple gunshot wounds. The investigation that followed would unravel a story of a fatal luring and a robbery that escalated to murder.
Investigators determined that Jackson had been intentionally
brought to the vacant residence with the intent of being robbed. During the commission of the crime, he was shot and killed, with the perpetrators making off with cash and a handgun. The senseless act of violence sent ripples of grief and shock through the community, leaving friends and family to mourn the loss of a young man whose life was just beginning.
The wheels of justice began to turn as law enforcement pieced together witness statements and forensic evidence, leading to the identification of multiple suspects. One of the individuals brought to justice was Jacory Foster. In October of 2019, a jury found Foster guilty of murder, armed robbery, and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. For his role in the death of Kiyounne Jackson, he received a life sentence in prison.
A year later, in October 2020, another man, Derrick Lamar Bennett Jr., then 24, pleaded guilty to charges of murder, armed robbery, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. His admission of guilt came with a 35-year prison sentence, a term he must serve in its entirety without the possibility of parole or early release. At the time of Bennett's sentencing, it was reported that charges were still pending against two other individuals in connection with the case.
