On a Saturday evening, March 14, 2015, the life of 19-year-old Pamela-Ann Kynazher was tragically cut short. A recent graduate of Godwin High School, the young white female from Henrico County found herself at an Exxon gas station in the 6100 block of Jahnke Road in South Richmond. What began as a dispute escalated into a fatal act of violence. Eyewitnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing a man with a gun flee the scene in a dark-colored minivan.
Kynazher was discovered in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the chest.
First responders rushed Pamela-Ann to Chippenham Hospital, but her injuries were too severe. She succumbed to the gunshot wound the following morning, marking the third homicide in the city of Richmond that year. The initial description of the suspect was of a thin, young, dark-skinned black male wearing a white t-shirt. The Richmond Police Department began a thorough investigation, relying on the crucial testimony of several eyewitnesses who came forward with valuable information that helped to identify a person of interest.
In May 2015, authorities publicly named 26-year-old Brandon L. Jackson of Henrico as the suspect in Kynazher's murder. At the time the charges were announced, Jackson was already incarcerated on unrelated offenses. The investigation revealed a motive behind the senseless violence; prosecutors stated that the shooting occurred after Kynazher had run from a drug deal without paying. Jackson was subsequently charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and willfully discharging a firearm in a public place. Court documents later showed that Jackson had a prior conviction from 2006, for which he had received a 10-year suspended sentence.
