A second St. Paul man was sentenced to prison this week in connection with the November 2024 murder of a 24-year-old man who authorities said was shot dead after being followed and “hunted.”
Dejaun Hemphill, 24, was with two cousins when he was shot near University Avenue and Rice Street on Nov. 5, 2024. Authorities said he and his cousins were being followed by two men, but were unaware they were being “hunted.”
Kenneth E. Terry, 19, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison as part of a plea agreement that also ordered him to submit a DNA sample. He pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Jehovah M. Nelson, 20, was sentenced earlier in December to more than 12 years in prison under the terms of his plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to second degree murder without intent.
A woman who was previously in a relationship with Terry reported that she had been hanging out with one of Hemphill’s cousins’ younger brothers, which was making Terry jealous. She said Terry had been bragging about Hemphill’s murder on social media, according to a criminal complaint. Hemphill died at the hospital on Nov. 15.
Kenneth E. Terry, left, and Jehovah M. Nelson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Surveillance video showed the shooter was wearing a white mask like the killer character Michael Myers wears in the “Halloween” movies. A similar mask was later found in a vehicle associated with the two men, the complaint said.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office originally charged Nelson with second-degree murder and Terry with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Both were 18 at the time of the shooting.
Nelson was also charged with two counts of attempted murder of Hemphill’s cousins who were with him; those charges were dismissed as part of his plea agreement. Terry’s additional charges of second-degree attempted murder also were dismissed as part of his plea agreement.
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