UPDATE: Kimahni Lankford was found not guilty on a possession of firearm by a felon charge, for which was tried separately from the attempted murder and malicious wounding charges.
Previous coverage:
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – After two hours of deliberating, the jury returned Thursday afternoon with a not guilty verdict on all 12 counts against Kimahni L. Lankford.
Lankford was facing charges in connection with a shooting in August 2020 that injured five people, including a 1-month-old girl.
Jurors heard testimony Wednesday from first responders and witnesses. The baby’s mother and grandmother also testified.
WAVY has confirmed Lankford will remain in custody for now, as he awaits a separate trial in March on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon. It’s tied to the same shooting incident.
WAVY News 10’s Hayley Milon was in the courtroom and will have complete coverage this afternoon beginning at 4.
The shooting occurred the night of August 25, in the 800 block of East Princess Anne Road. Five people were shot, including 1-month-old Honesty Brehon, who was left with life-threatening injuries. Honesty’s mother was also one of the victims.
Honesty was critically injured. Her pelvis was shattered, both femurs were hit and there was damage to her reproductive system. She now wears a colostomy bag, she has nerve damage to her eyes, one foot is deformed and she has only one hip. The other victims survived.
In January 2021, then-20-year-old Lankford was charged in connection with the shooting. In April of that year, Lankford was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding, five counts of attempted murder, 10 charges of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one count of reckless handling of a firearm and one count of discharging a firearm in public.
Last week, the Commonwealth’s Attorney dropped the five attempted murder charges and five use of a firearm charges.
Arkeda Brehan, grandmother of the now 2-year-old Honesty, sobbed on the stand as she said the girl can’t properly walk, has severe nerve damage, and can never have children.
Lavan Platte, Honesty’s uncle and the prosecution’s key witness, said he stood about seven feet away as Lankford fired at a group of people gathered at the apartment complex.
Platte did not come forward to police until January 6, 2021, when he turned himself in for unrelated charges. Platte bonded out on his charges the same day he identified Lankford in connection to the August shooting.
Eric Korslund, Lankford’s attorney, said the prosecution depended upon Platte’s credibility.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.