MINNEAPOLIS — A teen who was just 15 when he shot a young mother in the head at point-blank range was sentenced to just short of 11 years in prison for his actions.
Foday Kevin Kamara, now 17, received a sentence of 130 months Wednesday morning in Hennepin County District Court, for killing Zaria McKeever as part of a revenge plot by her former boyfriend. Kamara struck a plea deal with prosecutors to assist in the prosecution of Erick Haynes, who himself was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Before sentencing, McKeever's father, Paul Grier, delivered a victim impact statement via Zoom, telling the court that he and his wife desire justice, but that Zaria would not want them living with hate in their hearts.
"My hope is that while the defendant Foday Kamara is serving his time, our prayer is that you will realize the damage that has been done to our family as we continue with our healing process," Grier said. "I also pray that there will be diving intervention so his heart will be changed so that by the time he is releasd no one else will have to endure this same fate by the act of his hands."
Her sister, Tiffany Epps, called Zaria a beautiful person and "her best friend," noting that Zaria invited the defendant to family gatherings, her daughter's birthday parties and treated him kindly, only to have that same young man kill her.
"She did not deserve that... he is not remorseful and he will do it again," Epps told the courtroom, refuting claims that Kamara has changed. "I lost so much," she added.
While noting that "the only real justice would be for Zaria McKeever to be alive," prosecutor Leah Erickson described unique aspects of the deal that will involve Kamara spending his first 6 months of incarceration at the juvenile facility in Red Wing where he will receive "age-appropriate treatment." He will then be transferred to the adult facility at Lino Lakes, but will continue in the state's youth offender program to reduce the risk of his reoffending.
Kamara's defense team acknowledged that his actions on that day in 2022 forever changed the lives of nearly everyone gathered in the courtroom, but told the judge that the defendant was a small, scared kid who was taken advantage of by McKeever's boyfriend. He read an apology from Kamara, who told McKeever's family, "she was a good person, who didn't deserve to be killed."
Judge William H. Koch did not depart from the plea deal, sentencing Kamara to 130 months with credit for 548 days already served. He noted the treatment the defendant will receive and told him to take it to heart. "You owe it to the victim and her family to not waste this time and not look at blaming anyone else... you are the one who pulled the trigger," Judge Koch told Kamara.
The judge ordered that Foday Kamara not possess firearms, ammunition or explosives for the rest of his life, and to submit to a DNA sample that will be entered into a national database.
McKeever was killed in Nov. of 2022, when Kamara pushed his way into the 23-year-old's apartment in Brooklyn Park and opened fire. During a hearing in March where he pled guilty, Kamara told the court that Haynes, McKeever's ex-boyfriend, supplied him with the gun and that he and his brother were looking for McKeever's new boyfriend.
Kamara said he fired four warning shots through a wall and then said when McKeever "charged" him, he fired the fatal shots.
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