2 additional adults convicted in murder of Zaria McKeever

MINNEAPOLIS — Two people who helped cover up the murder of Zaria McKeever were sentenced in court on Wednesday.

Eriana Haynes and Tavion James pleaded guilty each to one count of assisting an offender after the fact. The two men, who were in a romantic relationship at the time, drove to the hospital one of the teenagers who broke into McKeever's apartment and lied to police, according to court documents.

Haynes was sentenced to 41 months, while James was sentenced to 42 months suspended for five years, along with five years of probation.

In November 2022, Erick Haynes – the brother of Eriana Haynes – handed a gun to two teenage brothers and asked them to scare McKeever's new boyfriend. McKeever was the mother of his 1-year-old child and he was distraught over the end of their relationship.

The teens broke down the door to McKeever's Brooklyn Park apartment. Foday Kamara, who was 15 at the time, shot McKeever nine times and accidentally shot his brother in the foot. McKeever's boyfriend jumped out of the window and was able to escape.

Next, Eriana Haynes and James took the brother to the hospital, where they told police he was shot in north Minneapolis. This ultimately hampered the investigation, according to court documents.

Erick Haynes, Eriana Haynes and Tavion James pleaded guilty in April. Erick Haynes was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Kamara pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal that saw him testify against Eriana Haynes and James in exchange for the dismissal of a second charge against him. It was sentenced over 10 years old.

Kamara was initially offered a plea deal by Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty, who wanted him and his brother to undergo rehabilitation instead of serving prison time. McKeever's family was outraged and successfully lobbied Governor Tim Walz to intervene and refer the case to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison without Moriarty's approval — a move that had not occurred in the state in nearly three decades. Moriarty called Walz's decision “undemocratic.”

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