Map: See where Lexington homicides happened in 2023, which cases are still open
Lexington reported 24 homicides in 2023, which is 20 fewer than 2022, the highest annual homicide count in the city’s history.
Of the 24 homicides, 22 were shootings, according to police data. The last time Lexington reported 24 or fewer homicides in a year was in 2018.
In the last 10 years the city has reported 24 or fewer homicides three times, according to police data. Police previously were investigating a total of 25 homicides, but the department later ruled one of the fatal shootings justifiable, reducing the city’s recorded number to 24.
The last homicide in 2023 occurred Dec. 27. The Lexington Police Department was dispatched to the 500 block of Pemberton Street for a report for a shooting with a victim. Police said when officers arrived they found 34-year-old Devon Dockery Jr. who had been shot inside a vehicle.
Dockery was later pronounced dead at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, according to police. The suspect, 26-year-old Luquan Hayes, was later charged with murder in connection to the case.
Half of last year’s homicide cases include a suspect in custody, according to police data.
The first killing happened in early February. According to the Lexington Police Department, officers responded to a report of shots fired on the 500 block of Toner Street the evening of Feb. 6. When they arrived they found a man dead from a gunshot wound inside a vehicle.
Lexington had 44 homicides in 2022, which set a new annual record. The previous record was 37, set in 2021.
Twenty-five people were charged with murder in connection to some of the 2022 homicides, closing 26 total cases. Some of the suspects arrested were juveniles.
Thirty-six of the victims were killed in shootings.
In 2022, Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers described the rise in gun violence as “a tragedy for this community.”
As more homicides are reported, the Herald-Leader will update this file to reflect the latest information known. Here is what we know about the deadly incidents which have occurred in Lexington in 2023:
Dec. 27: Devon Dockery Jr., 34
Dockery was found shot inside a vehicle in the 500 block of Pemberton Street around 5 p.m. The Fayette County Coroner’s Office said he later died at a hospital from multiple gunshot wounds.
Luquan Hayes, 26, was charged with murder in connection to the case on January 5.
Oct. 15: Estaud Lopez 47
LPD officers responded to the 200 block of Race Street for a report of shots fired, police said. When they arrived they found Lopez suffering from a gunshot wound. He was declared dead on scene.
The coroner’s office originally said the victim’s name was Samuel Lopez. However, it was later determined that a member of the victim’s household provided the coroner’s office with an alias name. The coroner’s office said the victim’s son provided Cortes’ actual name.
Sept. 30: Trevon Cummins, 23
At approximately 1:19 a.m. police responded to the 1200 block of Centre Parkway for a report of shots fired. Cummins suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and was pronounced dead on scene, according to the Fayette Coutny Coroner’s Office.
The suspect was gone when they arrived, police said.
Sept. 29: Kristopher Caylin Walker Lewis, 28
Lewis died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn. He was killed in a parking lot between two warehouses on the 100 block of Trade Street.
There was an altercation between the victim and the suspect before the shooting, according to Ginn.
Sept. 24: Ty’Juan Pearson, 38
Pearson was found suffering from a gunshot wound in the 100 block of West Main Street around 1:30 a.m. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died, police said.
The suspect fled before officers arrived, police said.
Sept. 23: Christina Fikes, 23
Lexington police responded to 522 Hollow Creek Road shortly before 4 p.m. and found a man and a woman, later identified as Fikes, with gunshot wounds. The preliminary investigation determined the shooting was a murder-suicide, police said.
Fikes was pronounced dead at the scene. The man was taken to the emergency room at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn. The name of the man is Sami Younus, according to LPD crime data.
An altercation proceeded the shooting, Ginn said.
Sept. 23: Dametrius Hampton, 18
The fatal shooting happened outside the Cook Out restaurant at 855 South Broadway, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office. Hampton was pronounced dead on scene.
The suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Jacolby Williams, fled before police arrived. On Oct. 19 Williams was arrested in Phoenix after a tip was reported to the Bluegrass Crime Stoppers.
Sept. 19: Arliss Stewart, 80
Stewart was found dead from a gunshot wound inside a home on Marshall Lane after a standoff between the alleged shooter, 59-year-old James Bradburn, and Lexington police. Stewart’s death marks the 16th homicide in Lexington this year.
Bradburn was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center after the standoff. He has been charged with murder.
Aug. 27: Malik Sleet, 26
Sleet was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound in a parking lot at the 900 block of Winchester Road. A second male victim arrived at a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries from a gunshot wound, police said.
No suspect information was immediately available.
Aug. 15: Willie Dixon, 42
Dixon was found dead with a gunshot wound inside a residence on the 3200 block of Creek Path Lane. Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said the shooting appeared to stem from a domestic incident.
No suspect information was immediately available.
July 25: Sy’Kia Epps, 9 months
Sy’Kia Epps was pronounced dead from “suspicious injuries” on July 30 by the coroner’s office, just days after police received a welfare check that she had been assaulted by her father. Syied Epps, 28 was arrested and originally charged with assault, but now the charge has been upgraded to murder — domestic violence.
July 13: Stacey Marshall, 31
Marshall was shot on the 900 block of Whitney Avenue early in the morning, according to police. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died.
Courtney Wrenn, 33, was arrested on July 14 and charged with murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree wanton endangerment and felon in possession of a handgun. Just over a month later a second suspect, 26-year-old Justin Brown, was also arrested and charged with murder, burglary and wanton endangerment.
July 12: Beverly Keesecker, 68
Keesecker’s body was found inside her apartment on St. Michael Drive, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office. She was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m.
Police said they received a report from a neighbor about a possible burglary at approximately 11:50 p.m. Tuesday. When they arrived, they found Keesecker dead with a gunshot wound.
Keesecker suffered injuries that were inflicted by another person, the coroner’s office said. Her cause of death was pending an autopsy.
Lexington police were investigating Keesecker’s death.
July 5: Christopher Valdez, 16
Around 2 p.m. officers were dispatched to Pine Meadows Park on Tazewell Drive for a report of a shooting. Police said when officers arrived they found one juvenile suffering a gunshot wound who was later taken to a local hospital. A second young victim arrived at a hospital later on, also with a gunshot wound.
Valdez’ body was found by officers who were searching the area, according to police. He was pronounced dead at 4:38 p.m. from a gunshot wound, according to the coroner.
Lexington police charged Emmanuel Contreras, 19, and a 16-year-old with murder and first-degree assault in the death of Valdez.
May 28: Kevin Reel, 35
Officers responded to the intersection of West Short Street and North Limestone in the early morning hours for a report of a gunshot wound victim, police said. When they arrived they found Kevin Reel, 35, with a fatal gunshot wound.
Investigators determined that 31-year-old Scott Lawless shot Reel, according to police. Lawless was arrested and charged with murder.
May 22: Jalen Henderson, 19
Henderson was shot and killed in the 700 block of Florence Avenue early in the morning, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office. He was declared dead on scene.
Police said two gunshot victims were actually found in the same area hours apart. An officer said it’s likely the two victims were involved in the same incident, but it was too early to confirm.
May 5: Michael Stinnett, 16
The shooting happened around 7:15 p.m. along a bike path near the corner of Summerhill and Woodspring drives, which is just off Armstrong Mill Road near Seton Catholic School. Stinnett was pronounced dead on scene while two other 19-year-old men were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Stewart Watson, 19, was taken into custody five days after the shooting and charged with murder and robbery, police said. Court documents say Watson tried to steal Stinnett’s gun and he was shot during an altercation.
May 5: Clinton Brown, 21
The shooting happened on Pine Street near South Limestone around 12:30 a.m., according to Lt. Joe Anderson with the Lexington Police Department. When officers arrived, they found Brown in the road with a gunshot wound.
Brown was sent to a hospital, where he later died, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
Later the same day, police said they had arrested Jamierion Allen, 19, with the help of Kentucky State Police, charging him with murder. Allen was being held in the Fayette County Detention Center.
The shooting was preceded by a disorder between multiple people, Anderson said.
April 30: Damar Weathers, 18
Police received a report of a dead body at Castlewood Park shortly after 8 a.m. A gunshot wound victim was found and police deemed his death to have been a homicide.
The man was later identified as Damar Weathers, 18. He was supposed to walk at Bryan Station High School’s graduation ceremony in May, according to a letter sent to Bryan Station families.
April 20: Timonte Harris, 43; Lakeisha Hill, 32
Officers were dispatched to the 400 block of Chestnut Street for reported gunshots, according to Lt. Joe Anderson with the Lexington Police Department. Responding officers found one man and one woman shot when they arrived.
Harris died as a result of the shooting, according to Anderson. Hill suffered serious injuries and died at the hospital two days later, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
Corry Jackson, 37, was arrested and charged in connection to the shooting, police said. His murder charge was reduced to manslaughter at a preliminary hearing after his arrest, but the charge was upgraded back to murder after a presentation to a grand jury.
March 17: Justin Cooke, 43
At around 7:30 p.m., Lexington police received multiple calls about a shooting at the Marathon gas station at 300 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., at the intersection with Third Street, Lt. Paul Boyles said. When officers arrived, Boyles said they found Cooke in the parking lot with life-threatening injuries.
Cooke was taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, where police later said he was pronounced dead.
A woman also suffered injuries in the shooting, police said Her injuries were non-life-threatening.
Marquan King, 19, was arrested and charged in the case. King’s case was sent to a grand jury after a Lexington police detective testified about the evidence against King in the shooting.
A second man, Lamont Clayborne, 21, was arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence.
Paula Kanatzer, 20, has also been charged with facilitating murder in connection to the shooting, according to court documents. Kanatzer admitted to driving the suspect, 19-year-old Marquan King, to and from the shooting scene, according to an arrest citation.
Feb. 26: Brighton Hendron, 4
Hendron died at a local hospital from a fentanyl overdose, according to the Lexington Police Department.
Anderson George, 32, Briana Turpin, 26, and Raven Houston, 18, have all been indicted on charges of second-degree manslaughter, trafficking fentanyl and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, according to court documents. George and Turpin were also indicted on a charge of tampering with physical evidence.
An indictment against the three suspects says George, Turpin and Houston “wantonly caused the death of B.H. as a result from unlawful distribution for remuneration of a schedule I or II controlled substance and the controlled substance was the proximate cause of death.”
Feb. 6: Marquis Tompkins Jr., 24
Just before 7 p.m., police were dispatched to the 500 block of Toner Street for a report of shots fired, according to police. When officers arrived, they found Tompkins suffering from a gunshot wound inside a vehicle. He was declared dead on the scene.
No suspect information was provided. Police are asking for the public’s help in providing information about the shooting.
Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling 859-253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 Tips app available at www.p3tips.com.
Herald-Leader reporters Taylor Six and Karla Ward contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 20, 2023 at 12:36 PM.
