The Kenton County Grand Jury indicted Jermaine Lamont Beamon, 27, for the shooting death of Lazuri Collins.
Detective Sgt. James West testified about the investigation that’s spanned more than two years. Covington Police were called to the area of 13th and Wheeler Streets in the Eastside community on Saturday, July 29, 2017 for a shooting.
Officers located Lazuri Collins in the driver’s seat of a Toyota Camry, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Her father, Antonio Collins, a passenger in the rear seat of the vehicle, was also struck by gunshots. Numerous witnesses told police they observed a hooded gunman flee the area on foot but police were unable to locate a suspect. Lazuri Collins died from her wounds.
Antonio Collins suffered serious injuries but lived.
Beamon, who is currently incarcerated in Butler County, Ohio, serving an unrelated sentence, now stands accused of Murder and First Degree Assault.
Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe issued a warrant for Beamon upon the indictment. Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said Beamon will be extradited back to Kentucky once his Ohio sentence is completed in early December, 2019.
Murder carries a possible punishment of 20-50 years or Life is prison. First Degree Assault carries a possible punishment of 10-20 years in prison. Both are felony offenses.
“We’ve been telling folks for a long time that we wouldn’t stop until we get justice for Lazuri,” said Sanders. “This is a big step in the right direction but we still have a long road ahead,” Sanders said.
The prosecutor commended Chief Rob Nader and the Covington Police Crime Bureau for their commitment to the case and all the hours spent on the investigation. Sanders said the arrest should have occurred two years ago but the lack of cooperative witnesses caused police to work much longer and harder to make the arrest.
“I grew up in this city and it pains me when a woman gets gunned down in cold blood before dozens of witnesses on a crowded street corner, yet no one saw anything.” he said. “It wasn’t always like this,” but the Covington Police stood up for Lazuri when others wouldn’t so hopefully we’ll get more cooperation in the future.”
An Indictment is only a charge. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney