Jury Convicts Man of First-Degree Murder in 2009 Shooting Death Outside Nightclub

Keenan Harte

Keenan D. Harte, 31, was tried for 1) first-degree murder and 2) possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, for the 2009 shooting death of Brandon Blakeney, 21.  Late yesterday afternoon, the jury returned verdicts of guilty as charged. The Honorable Hugh B. Lewis, Superior Court Judge, sentenced the defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In the early morning hours of May 30, 2009, Mr. Blakeney was with friends in a parking lot outside a Charlotte nightclub. The defendant walked through Mr. Blakeney’s group and got in his car, bumping into Mr. Blakeney in the process. Mr. Blakeney commented that the defendant had bumped into him. The defendant and Mr. Blakeney then exchanged words. The defendant got out of his car with a chrome revolver and, from a distance of two or three feet, shot Mr. Blakeney in the neck. Mr. Blakeney died on scene. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police apprehended the defendant on May 31, 2009.