In the light of a Sunday afternoon in Lancaster, South Carolina, the life of 30-year-old Devone Fonta Frazier was cut short by gunfire on October 9, 2016. The male victim was discovered lying in the street on 13th Street and was quickly transported to Springs Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office promptly initiated an investigation into the brazen daylight shooting, which occurred near a church during its services.
Their efforts quickly zeroed in on a suspect, 19-year-old Kenneth Jerome Hood Jr. Information from the community led authorities to the Palmetto Place Apartments on Pardue Street the following morning. After a brief attempt to flee, Hood was taken into custody.
Authorities charged Hood with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. At the time of his death, Frazier himself was entangled in the legal system. He was out on bond and awaiting a retrial for a 2007 murder charge. A prior conviction in that case had been overturned on appeal.
While the arrest of Kenneth Jerome Hood Jr. brought a swift response to the shooting, the ultimate disposition of the charges against him is not publicly documented in available online sources. The narrative of Devone Fonta Frazier's death is marked by a sudden and violent end, an arrest, and a history of legal troubles for the victim, but the final chapter of the legal proceedings against his alleged killer remains untold in the public record.
