On the morning of September 15, 2017, John Robert Lacy, a 44-year-old Black / African American man, was walking near the intersection of Chicago Avenue South and Franklin Avenue East in south Minneapolis. It was shortly after 7 a.m. when his life was abruptly ended in a calculated act of violence. Surveillance footage captured a car pulling up behind him as he walked by Peavey Park. A man exited the vehicle, approached Lacy from behind, and shot him in the back of the head.
The assailant then got back into the car and fled the scene. Lacy was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office officially ruled his death a homicide.
The investigation into the shooting revealed that it was not a random act of violence. The prime suspect was quickly identified as 33-year-old Tescil Romalis Mason-Kimmons. Investigators discovered that Mason-Kimmons and Lacy had been embroiled in a long-simmering feud. This animosity had escalated just three days prior to the fatal shooting, when Mason-Kimmons allegedly stabbed Lacy during an altercation at the same intersection. Following the stabbing, Mason-Kimmons was arrested. It was during a recorded phone call from jail that Mason-Kimmons reportedly made a chilling threat, vowing to kill Lacy upon his release.
Two days after being released from jail, the deadly promise was fulfilled. Investigators, aided by the surveillance footage, obtained a search warrant for Mason-Kimmons's home. There, they discovered a revolver similar to the one used in the shooting. Mason-Kimmons was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Another individual, 29-year-old Elana R. Danowit, was also charged in connection with the murder, accused of being the getaway driver. In August 2018, Tescil R. Mason-Kimmons pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder, a plea that allowed him to avoid a potential life sentence on a first-degree murder indictment. Prosecutors anticipated a sentence of over 30 years for the execution-style killing.
