2 more people indicted in killing of federal witness in Lexington
Two more people have been indicted in a 2023 murder-for-hire plot that killed a federal witness in Lexington, according to court documents.
Casey Allison Morris, 29, and Quincino Lamont Waide Jr., 24, are among eight people now indicted in the death of Kristopher Lewis, who prosecutors say was shot and killed by a Lexington street gang called the Hot Boyz.
William Quejohn Dixon, 28, Rollie Deshawn Lamar, 32, Daquis Damarr Sharp, 27, Desmond Elijah Bellomy, 26, and Jatiece Alvin Parks, 21, ad DeAngelo Montavius Boone, 26, were indicted in October in the September 2023 killing.
Morris and Waide were indicted in November, according to a court documents unsealed Nov. 7.
Morris was charged with use of interstate commerce in commission for murder-for-hire, conspiracy to use interstate commerce in commission for murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to use a firearm in a crime of violence. She faces a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life in prison.
Waide faces a charge of being an accessory to the crime for allegedly facilitating the getaway car. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.
One year before he was killed, Lewis, 28, was indicted alongside a man named Rollie Lamar on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering.
Lewis was going to testify at Lamar’s trial, court documents show. But he was gunned down first.
At the time of his arrest, Lamar had more than $2 million in assets, including luxury cars, high-end jewelry and guns, prosecutors say.
And in 2023, police allege, he used $1,000 of those funds to order a hit on Lewis. The four men involved were to receive $250 apiece.
Lamar was convicted anyway in a February 2024 trial and sentenced to 18 years in prison, according to online court records.
The details of Lewis’ killing were first included in court documents for a federal detention hearing for Waide, who was initially charged in a separate case with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of domestic violence.
Five of the six men named in the original indictment were charged with witness tampering via killing; conspiracy to witness tamper via killing; use of interstate commerce to facilitate murder for hire; conspiracy to use interstate commerce to facilitate murder for hire; and conspiracy to use a firearm for a violent crime.
Boone faces only three of the five charges: use of interstate commerce to facilitate murder for hire; conspiracy to use interstate commerce to facilitate murder for hire; and conspiracy to use a firearm for a violent crime.
If convicted on all charges, the six men and Morris could face the death penalty or life in prison. A trial was scheduled for Dec. 2, but it was postponed while the attorney general determines whether the death penalty will apply.
The last time the federal government carried out an execution was in January 2021, when Dustin Higgs was executed. It marked the 13th and final federal execution in a series that resumed under the Trump administration.
