On May 9, 2023, Vernaldo Donner, a 23-year-old, and Terri McKenzie, 21, were shot and killed in a violent incident near Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The shooting was part of a broader series of homicides linked to the Dania Hot Boyz gang, also known as Grand Mafia.
According to investigators, Donner and McKenzie were not the intended victims of the gunfire. The incident occurred when the vehicle they were in came under fire, resulting in their deaths.
This tragic event was one of several homicides attributed to the gang's activities, which spanned multiple locations across Broward County from 2021 to 2024.
The investigation into their deaths was part of a larger, months-long operation conducted by the Broward Sheriff's Office Gang Investigations Task Force, the Broward State Attorney’s Office, and other law enforcement partners. The breakthrough in the case came after the murder of 17-year-old Terrance Farrington Jr. on January 20, 2024, outside a Best Buy in Plantation, where Sigmund Brown, a leader of the Dania Hot Boyz, left a traceable fingerprint on a car connected to the crime.
The suspects arrested in connection with these murders include Sigmund Brown, Kevaris Johnson, Gerard Charles, Vondarious Davis, Tyriq Jackson, Jared McCabe, Trayvon Key, and Rajah Rolle. They face a 33-count indictment that includes charges of murder, attempted murder, and racketeering. Kevaris Johnson is specifically accused in the shooting deaths of Donner and McKenzie, among other victims.
The arrests and subsequent charges marked a significant milestone in solving several unsolved homicides in Broward County, bringing some measure of justice to the families of the victims, including Vernaldo Donner and Terri McKenzie.
