Lancaster teen charged in fatal shooting of murder defendant

LANCASTER — A Lancaster teenager has been charged with murder in the Sunday shooting death of a previously-convicted felon whose murder conviction had been overturned by a state appeals court, according to officials.

Kenneth Jerome Hood Jr., 19, was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to Doug Barfield, a spokesman for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. He is accused in the shooting death of 30-year-old Devone Fonta Frazier, who was found lying on his back in the road on the 900 block of 13th Street Sunday afternoon.

Frazier was taken to Springs Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Barfield said. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

Investigators spoke with people on the scene and worked into the night, eventually developing Hood as a suspect, Barfield said. Information received Monday morning led detectives to Palmetto Place Apartments on Pardue Street, where Hood tried to run but was taken into custody around 8:30 a.m.

Sheriff Barry Faile said the fatal shooting happened around the corner from church services that were going on.

“We received more information early this morning on Hood’s whereabouts, which allowed us to quickly take him into custody,” Faile said. “This is exactly the kind of cooperation we need from citizens, and I appreciate the help of all those who came forward.”

The victim, Frazier, was convicted of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in the March 2007 killing of Jermaine “Baldy” Richardson at Pardue Street Apartments; however, an appeals court overturned Frazier’s conviction in January 2013 and granted him a new trial.

Richardson was shot in the head at Pardue Street Apartments the night of March 9, 2007. A number of witnesses testified during Frazier’s trial that he attacked Richardson earlier in the night, according to the court of appeals ruling. Witnesses also testified that Frazier “never calmed down after the attack and immediately made threats” to a man named James Ross that he would kill Ross and Richardson.

“Six of the witnesses testified they later saw Frazier walk up to Baldy’s car, look in the driver’s side window and shoot into the window three to four times,” the ruling states.

Frazier testified that he was assaulted by Ross at a gathering the night of the fatal shooting, and that the two later continued arguing outside the home. During the argument outside, Frazier testified, Richardson arrived in his car and leaned out the window, firing a rifle at Frazier.

Frazier said he then ran toward and ducked behind the corner of an SUV on the sidewalk in front of a next-door apartment, from which he stood up and shot at Richardson’s car three times.

In his appeal, Frazier contended that the trial court erred in declining to charge self-defense “because the record contains evidence he was shot at with a rifle from behind, ducked behind the front corner of a nearby vehicle and shot back at his assailants,” the ruling states.

Frazier also contended the court erred in declining to charge voluntary manslaughter because evidence showed “he fired at Baldy out of anger arising from the initial jumping and response to shots fired by both Baldy and Hood.”

The appeals court also ruled that the trial court erred in “permitting an inference of malice based upon his use of a firearm.”

Check back for updates.

Teddy Kulmala: 803-329-4082, @teddy_kulmala

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Lancaster teen charged in fatal shooting of murder defendant."