Attorney General’s Office completes prosecutions related to murder of Zaria McKeever

Eriana Haynes and Tavion James sentenced today after guilty pleas to aiding an offender in brutal November 2022 slaying

Erick Haynes previously sentenced to life in prison after guilty plea to first-degree murder; Foday Kamara previously sentenced to more than 10 years after guilty plea to second-degree intentional murder

June 5, 2024 (SAINT PAUL) — The Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today completed the prosecution of the individuals charged in the brutal November 2022 murder of Zaria McKeever, with the sentencing today of the remaining two defendants. Defendant Eriana Haynes was sentenced to 41 months in prison, while defendant Tavion James was sentenced to 364 days in jail and a stayed sentence of 42 months for the next five years. The Attorney General’s Office secured guilty pleas on April 1, 2024 from Haynes and James for aiding an offender after the fact.

On April 12, 2024, Erick Haynes was sentenced to life in prison following his plea of guilty to first-degree felony murder, with the possibility of release after 30 years. On May 8, 2024, Foday Kevin Kamara was sentenced to 130 months’ confinement following his plea of guilty to second-degree intentional murder.

Zaria McKeever, age 23, was violently murdered in a Brooklyn Park home on November 8, 2022. Her former partner, Erick Haynes, who was the father of Zaria’s then one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, sent two juveniles, including Foday Kamara, into an apartment with guns to kill Zaria McKeever’s new boyfriend. In the process, the juveniles shot Ms. McKeever five times, including at point-blank range to her head. The juveniles fled the scene in a vehicle driven by Mr. Haynes and were aided after the homicide by Eriana Haynes and Tavion James.