In the cold of a Boston winter, on the morning of February 11, 2015, a young Black man named Kenny Lamour, aged 21, was shot and killed. Lamour was working with a non-profit work crew, shoveling snow in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood, when the violence erupted at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Centre Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene, having sustained a gunshot wound to the head.
The brazen daylight shooting sent shockwaves through the community and prompted a swift police response that would quickly unravel the plot behind the murder.
The investigation revealed a premeditated act rooted in gang rivalry. Lamour and another member of the snow-shoveling crew, Donte Henley, were known to be affiliated with rival gangs. Despite assuring their crew supervisor that they could work together without incident, Henley was secretly orchestrating Lamour's murder. Phone records later exposed a series of text messages between Henley, who was 24 at the time, and an 18-year-old accomplice, Josiah Zachery. In these messages, Henley expressed his hostility towards Lamour and instructed Zachery to come to the worksite with a firearm. Henley provided Zachery with Lamour's location and a description of his clothing.
Acting on Henley's instructions, Zachery arrived at the Jamaica Plain location and opened fire on the unsuspecting Lamour, striking him in the head. As chaos ensued, Zachery fled on foot. A Boston Police officer who was nearby pursued him. During the chase, Zachery turned and fired a shot at the officer, but did not hit him. Soon after, police apprehended Zachery, who was found carrying a shovel but was conspicuously ill-equipped for the weather, wearing sneakers and no gloves. The same day, Josiah Zachery was arrested in connection with Lamour's murder. Donte Henley was arrested later that month.
In April 2015, a Suffolk County grand jury indicted both Donte Henley and Josiah Zachery for first-degree murder. Zachery faced additional charges of armed assault with intent to murder for firing at the police officer. Following a trial, in November 2017, a jury found both Henley and Zachery guilty of second-degree murder. Zachery was also convicted on the related weapons charges. In December 2017, both men were sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after a minimum of 20 years. Zachery received an additional four to five years to be served after his murder sentence for the assault on the police officer.
