In the early hours of a Saturday morning, the life of 20-year-old Kevin Raymond, a Black male from Somerville, Massachusetts, was tragically cut short. On October 14, 2017, at approximately 3:40 a.m., gunshots echoed through a parking lot on Canal Lane. Raymond was shot multiple times and was quickly driven to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
A former student at Franklin Pierce University, where he had played on the sprint football team in 2015, Raymond was a 2014 graduate of Somerville High School and had been a star running back for the Highlanders.
The investigation into the shooting led authorities to 28-year-old Tony Harris of Everett. Harris was arrested on November 3, 2017, by a team of Massachusetts State Police, Everett, and Somerville Police officers. He was subsequently arraigned in Somerville District Court on a multitude of charges, including murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and several firearms violations. At the arraignment, he was ordered held without bail.
During the investigation, police discovered a revolver and a gold chain in the parking lot where the shooting occurred; DNA on both items was later matched to Harris. Investigators also found video footage of Harris driving a vehicle matching the description of the suspect's car in the area before and after the murder. Another video showed him wearing a gold chain that was identical to the one found at the scene. Further evidence included the discovery of Raymond's blood in the vehicle Harris was driving on the night of the incident.
In June 2023, a Middlesex Superior Court jury found Tony Dyshaun Harris guilty of murder, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a license, and carrying a loaded firearm without a license. The following month, a judge also found him guilty of being an armed career criminal. For the murder of Kevin Raymond, Harris was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
