On a Friday evening in the Bronx, a dispute over a final paycheck escalated into a fatal encounter for 29-year-old Lorenzo Daley. The male victim had accompanied his wife to her former place of employment, Simply Seafood on White Plains Road, on September 29, 2017, to collect her last wages. An argument erupted between Daley and the restaurant's owner, Kenton Connerly, regarding the payment.
The disagreement spilled out onto the street, where the confrontation turned violent.
Connerly, who was 49 at the time, produced a handgun. He struck Daley in the head with the weapon, at which point the firearm discharged a single time. The bullet struck Lorenzo Daley in the neck. Emergency services were called to the scene, and Daley was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center for treatment. Despite the efforts of medical staff, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, police took Kenton Connerly into custody. He was subsequently arrested and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. The case proceeded through the legal system, culminating in a jury trial. In December 2019, Connerly was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon for his role in Daley's death.
Following his conviction, Kenton Connerly was sentenced in January 2020. A Bronx Supreme Court Justice ordered him to serve 20 years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision. This sentence brought a legal conclusion to the case that began with a workplace dispute and ended in the tragic death of Lorenzo Daley.
