Man looking for ex-girlfriend shot 9 times. His alleged killer is now charged with murder
A 37-year-old man killed last week near the Tacoma Tideflats was shot to death after he banged on the door of a motorhome where his ex-girlfriend was staying, according to charging documents filed against his killer.
Court records allege Kenny Lamont Haymore, 49, lived nearby and drove up while the victim was looking for the woman. He allegedly confronted the man outside the motorhome and shot him nine times. The victim has not been publicly identified. Haymore was charged Friday in Pierce County Superior Court with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
The defendant was arraigned Friday afternoon, and Commissioner Philip Thornton set bail at $1 million. Pleas of not guilty were entered on Haymore’s behalf.
Deputy prosecutor Wesley Yu argued for that amount of bail, citing the “serious” facts of the case and the defendant’s criminal history, including a 2015 conviction for second-degree assault.
Investigators believe the Oct. 1 fatal shooting occurred on Cleveland Way on a gravel road between the Puyallup River and railroad tracks. That’s where Tacoma Police Department detectives found shell casings and an empty magazine for a handgun. Shortly after 2 a.m., a woman called 911 and reported her friend had been shot, and she was driving him to a hospital.
Officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of St. Paul Avenue, about a mile from the shooting scene. According to the probable cause document, the 911 caller stopped there when she realized one of her tires had been shot out. While the victim and two other people waited for first responders, the 911 caller drove off then abandoned the vehicle.
Police arrived and found the victim unresponsive on the side of the road. Officers performed CPR on the victim until he was transported to the hospital, where he later died.
According to charging documents, the victim and his ex-girlfriend broke up several days before Oct. 1, and both knew the owner of the motorhome. Records state that two months ago, they borrowed the owner’s vehicle but never returned it. In late September, the woman returned to the motorhome and told the owner that she had been held captive by her boyfriend.
The victim’s ex-girlfriend was reportedly afraid of him, and when he came banging on the motorhome’s door, the owner did not let him in for fear that he would hurt her, court records show.
The man was driven to the shooting scene in a Chevy Impala, according to the probable cause document, and detectives interviewed three witnesses who were with him. Records state the victim and a driver picked up two people from a homeless encampment because they knew where the ex-girlfriend was. The victim reportedly had his girlfriend on the phone and was worried about her because she was allegedly “very high” and “fading in and out.”
When they arrived at the motorhome, the victim banged on the door and yelled his ex-girlfriend’s name while waving a flashlight around. According to the probable cause document, he was armed with a handgun and shot one round into the ground.
He eventually came back to the car, and a witness said that’s when two men arrived in a white truck. One man, identified in court records as Haymore, went up to the victim and allegedly told him to hand over his gun, which he did. Then witnesses reported hearing Haymore curse before shooting the victim multiple times.
Haymore was located and arrested Oct. 5. In interviews with detectives, he allegedly said he went to the motorhome after getting a call about the victim banging on trailers while looking for the ex-girlfriend. Haymore told detectives that after telling the victim to stop, another man he was with picked up a gun the victim had put down. He said the two argued, and then he heard gunshots. He denied shooting any gun.
This story was originally published October 7, 2022 at 1:48 PM.
