Teen killed at Fayette Mall knew slain basketball player. Police: Shootings not linked
Two teen homicide victims and their companions knew each other, but Lexington police say they can’t link the two shootings that occurred within days of each other.
Kenneth Bottoms Jr., 17, died after he was shot at Fayette Mall after a verbal altercation Sunday, police said. He knew former Tates Creek High School basketball player Mykel Waide, 18, who was shot to death off Newtown Pike near Newtown Court a week earlier on Aug. 16, according to photos and social media posts. At least one of two 18-year-olds with Bottoms Sunday also knew and played sports with Waide.
Nevertheless, Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said Tuesday that he hadn’t received any information which would connect the two shootings.
“That doesn’t mean that they’re not [connected],” Weathers said. “That just means that our investigation has not determined that yet.”
Including the deaths of Bottoms and Waide, there were five Lexington homicides in a nine-day span over the last two weeks. Four of them involved teenage victims. Weathers said the recent spike isn’t “random.”
“The people involved had some kind of circumstances or associations in common,” Weathers said. “But with that being said, from our standpoint, none of those circumstances, none of those associations are worth anybody’s life, and nobody has the right to take anybody’s life, so we’re investigating those to the fullest.”
No one has been charged in the death of Waide, who was supposed to start college this semester at the University of Louisville, his friends said on social media. Waide was found at the scene of a large “disorder” in which three others were also wounded.
The shooting that killed Bottoms also occurred with multiple people nearby and others were injured. Two innocent bystanders — a 41-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl — inside the Fayette Mall were shot, but their injuries weren’t life-threatening.
Xavier Hardin, 19, was arrested Monday and charged with murder and two counts of assault.
After the shooting, police said that Bottoms and Hardin may have known each other, but Weathers said Tuesday that he wasn’t sure what their relationship was.
Homicide victims also had friends or associates in common
In addition to Hardin, Nasir Lyons and Cion Townsend, both 18, were arrested Sunday and charged with evidence tampering. They were seen removing evidence from Bottoms’ body, according to their arrest citations. Both were “associated with” Bottoms, police said.
According to his Twitter account, Townsend played sports with Waide at Tates Creek High School. They were on the basketball team.
Townsend was planning to play football for Kentucky Wesleyan College this fall, according to a tweet he posted Aug. 7. Eddie Kenny, vice president of advancement at Kentucky Wesleyan, said Tuesday that the school decided to withdraw Townsend’s offer due to his involvement in the mall shooting.
“KWC will continue to work with law enforcement as needed, and expresses its heartfelt condolences and prayers to the victims of the senseless tragedy,” Kenny said.
After the mall shooting, Townsend was booked into the jail but stayed only a few hours before he was released on his own recognizance, jail spokesman Capt. Matt LeMonds said.
Townsend had another pending case. He was accused of being involved in a shooting on Polo Club Boulevard May 26, according to court records. Police allegedly found Townsend with a stolen Smith and Wesson, more than $800 in cash and nearly 30 grams of marijuana, according to court records.
Townsend was charged with trafficking marijuana, having a stolen gun and making an unlawful transaction with a minor, according to court records.
Lyons was arraigned in court Monday. In addition to evidence tampering, he was also charged with violating conditions of a previous release and was held in jail on a $25,000 bond. Lyons was previously charged with possession of a handgun by a minor, assault, criminal mischief and wanton endangerment in October 2019, according to court records.
Weathers said Tuesday that the involvement of two previously charged people who had been released from jail was “frustrating,” but it was part of being a police officer.
“Everybody’s entitled to due process, and everybody goes through the court system,” Weathers said.
Hardin was arraigned Tuesday in Fayette County District Court. Hardin’s attorney, Braxton Crenshaw, asked Judge John L. Tackett to lower Hardin’s $560,000 bond to $30,000, but the judge declined after determining Hardin was a “significant danger to the community.” Hardin has a preliminary hearing on Sept. 1. Tackett said the bond amount could be addressed again on that date.
Lyons is set to be back in court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 2. He is being represented by Lexington attorney Daniel Whitley Sr., who had previously represented Bottoms in separate cases.
Whitley said Bottoms was in an environment that caused him to struggle, but Bottoms, who recently had a child, was capable of succeeding in the right circumstances.
“When he was in a place where he could focus on school and his life, he excelled,” Whitley said.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 7:49 AM.