Life Terms for Two Convicted in Murder of Roca Worker in JP

Two men convicted last week of murdering 21-year-old Kenny Lamour as he worked on a Roca snow-shoveling crew in Jamaica Plain in 2015 were sentenced to life in prison Dec. 4.

At the conclusion of their Suffolk Superior Court jury trial last week, Donte Henley, 27, and Josiah Zachery, 21, were found guilty of second-degree murder for Lamour’s 2015 shooting death.

Judge Peter Lauriat sentenced each to life in prison with the possibility of parole after a minimum of 20 years. Zachery, who was also convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and assault with a dangerous weapon, was ordered to serve an additional four to five years in prison, to be served after he has completed the sentence on his murder conviction.

During the course of the trial, Assistant District Attorneys Ian Polumbaum and Nicholas Brandt presented evidence and testimony to prove that Henley and Lamour were each members of a snow-shoveling crew organized by Chelsea non-profit agency Roca on Feb. 11, 2015.

Though the two men were known by the agency to be affiliated with rival gangs, each told a Roca crew supervisor that they could work together without issue.

Phone records, however, proved that Henley began to plot Lamour’s murder through an exchange of text messages with Zachery. In the messages, Henley expressed hostility toward Lamour and told Zachery to come to the Jamaica Plain worksite with a gun. Henley later provided Zachery with Lamour’s location and clothing description.

Zachery located Lamour on Centre Street and, at approximately 10:35 a.m., opened fire, striking Lamour in the head.

As Zachery fled on foot, he was pursued by a Boston Police officer. The evidence proved that Zachery pointed his gun at the officer and fired a single shot as he ran. The officer was not struck, and additional Boston Police soon located Zachery nearby on Centre Street. He was carrying shovel but had no gloves and was wearing sneakers rather than snow boots, prosecutors said. Boston Police located a resident of a nearby resident who reported that a shovel matching the one Zachery was carrying had been stolen.

Elise McConnell was the DA’s assigned victim–witness advocate. Henley was represented by James Budreau and Zachery by Robert Wheeler.

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