Two people are in custody and facing nearly 30 charges each for their alleged roles in the June 2 shooting at Graceland Cemetery during the funeral for Da’Shontay King.
Lamarion Blair, 19, and a 16-year-old boy were apprehended Thursday, according to a press release from the Racine Police Department. Both were booked into the Racine County Jail with 26 felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety as a party to a crime and two felony counts of first-degree intentional attempted homicide.
Racine investigators worked closely with agents from the Federal Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals to take Blair and the 16-year-old into custody.
The Graceland Cemetery funeral shooting
King was killed May 20, 2022, after he fled a traffic stop and attempted to pick up the gun he dropped during the foot chase with Racine police Officer Zachary Brenner. During King’s funeral on June 2, shots were fired, and two women were hit. At the time, witnesses told Racine County Eye that the shooting took place during the procession.
Video from someone at King’s funeral depicts family and friends gathered for his service when gunfire begins. Mourners hit the ground and/or began running for safety. In the video, you can hear a woman screaming for help.
Wright Avenue shooting thought to be connected
Blair and the 16-year-old are also suspected of initiating a shooting incident in the 2800 block of Wright Avenue immediately following the cemetery shooting.
Blair was arrested June 8 in Las Vegas, NV, on a fugitive warrant. Online court records from Clark County, NV, indicate he appeared before a judge there on June 13 and waived his right to an extradition hearing.
Racine County court records show that Blair has an open felony case from December 2019 for possession of a firearm by an adjudicated juvenile. He was assigned a $1,000 cash bond that was paid, but he was also held both at Lincoln Hills and at the Mendota Mental Health Youth Facility for another charge while this case progressed toward an August 2022 trial date. Blair was released in February 2022, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear for a May 23 hearing.
On June 24, the court record indicates officials were aware of Blair’s arrest in Nevada and were awaiting his extradition to Racine before continuing. Blair was back in Racine and in court on June 28 where his cash bond was increased to $1,500, and his final pre-trial conferences were scheduled for early 2023.
Blair’s booking information on the Racine County Jail website lists his arrest date as June 26.
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