Charles Crane/MDN Kamauri Kennedy is shown at the Ward County Courthouse Tuesday after being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Dominique Kelly.
A man convicted earlier this year of the 2021 murder of Dominique Kelly in Minot was sentenced Tuesday in North Central District Court to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Kamauri Kennedy, 35, appeared for sentencing before Judge Gary Lee, who was asked by Ward County Assistant Prosecutor John Gonzalez to impose the harshest sentence possible.
Gonzalez noted that Kennedy was on federal and state probation at the time of Kelly's murder and that the seriousness of his offense precluded any possibility of parole. Gonzalez pointed to Kennedy's lengthy criminal record as well as his resistance to reforms during his probation sentence due to his ties to a fentanyl ring in Minot that distributed the narcotics on reservations and communities across North Dakota.
“We have two state agencies that were unable to determine his whereabouts to prevent him from coming to North Dakota to continue selling drugs in the community, which ultimately led to the crime of murder, the reason we all today here are.” Gonzalez said. “We cannot justify probation in itself. This is an individual who has received the highest sanctions from the state of North Dakota. He deserves every moment of his time behind bars. The idea that this is a person who will be allowed to breathe free air in a free community in a free country in the future should not be entertained.”
Kennedy's lawyer, William Harvey Skees, appealed for Lee to impose a sentence that left the door open to parole, arguing that his client's criminal record did not support the notion that he would not be reformed after serving a long prison sentence.
“If the system can’t reform him, it’s a slap in the face to the system itself.” Skees said.
Skees said his client maintained his innocence throughout the trial, which was also stated in the presentence investigation. He said Kennedy plans to appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court.
Lee asked Kennedy if he had anything to say on his own behalf, and he responded by reiterating that he denied having any involvement in Kelly's death.
“I didn't do that. I would never hurt a woman. “I never had a problem with that woman.” Kennedy said.
Kennedy referred to the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, which Lee denied during the trial, and raised the possibility that the actual argument occurred on the night in question with people acting as state witnesses. Kennedy also mentioned his rejection of a plea deal offered to him before trial that would have included a sentence of 25 years in prison, saying he rejected it because he “I won’t serve any punishment for something I didn’t do.”
Kennedy ended his statement by saying he was sorry Kelly was murdered, but insisted he had nothing to do with it.
Lee responded that he wasn't there to question the jury, which found him guilty of driving with Kelly to a rural part of Ward County, shooting her in the head, dousing her and the vehicle with gasoline , in which she sat, to light a fire. Lee cited evidence and testimony presented at trial that said Kelly died of smoke inhalation rather than a gunshot, showing she was still alive while the vehicle was engulfed in flames.
“It was a terrible, terrible death. “It appears from the trial evidence that Mr. Kennedy planned this, carried it out and attempted to cover it up by burning the evidence of his wrongdoing.” Lee said. “In addition, evidence was presented at trial linking Mr. Kennedy to a large illegal drug trafficking ring in Minot. There is evidence that this murder is somehow related to this gang activity. This was essentially a gangland execution. A terrible crime.”
Lee pointed to the study's findings that Kennedy had a 70% chance of reoffending if released and agreed with the state that he was unlikely to respond well to probation and parole.
“Given the horrific nature of this crime, the horrific death suffered by Ms Kelly, taking into account the above factors and having regard to the information in the present investigation, I am of the belief and order that this is the type of crime that The legislature has created “the most severe of all possible punishments” Lee said.
