A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment with the chance for parole after 30 years, following his guilty plea to two counts of first-degree murder. The sentencing, which occurred on Sept. 26, concludes part of a case that commenced with a deadly shooting in 2022. Clackamas County officials confirmed that Kaythan Miguel Tenry stood responsible for the deaths of Jamahl Nash and Stanafurd Blacknall in a 7-Eleven parking lot incident.
Plea negotiations led to Tenry's acceptance of his role in killing the two individuals, with other charges being dismissed in the process. Alongside Tenry, another male directly involved in the incident – named as Frank Efrin Nifon – was previously tried and sentenced to 25 years for his participation in the crimes, which charged him on two counts of Manslaughter in the First Degree. Prosecutors Brian Powell and Jeremy Morrow saw the cases to their respective conclusions this year.
The incident, initially unfolding in the early hours of Oct. 12, 2022, was captured by video surveillance at a Milwaukie 7-Eleven on Southeast Lake Road. Recorded footage showed Nash's vehicle arriving at the premises at 1:31 a.m. Following a brief interaction with Nifon, the vehicle attempted to leave the scene, hastily making Nash and Blacknall targets by Tenry and Nifon – bullets flying from both sides of their car. In a chase, the vehicle subsequently crashed into a nearby fire hydrant, where both men were discovered shot to death, their car peppered with 15 bullets.
Despite the investigations concluding with convictions, the exact motivations behind the double murder remain elusive, with law enforcement only confirming the shooting to be intentional but without a clear cause. Court documents revealed that, as they walked to an apartment building, the muzzle flashes and identifications of Tenry and Nifon were captured on cameras belonging to an adjacent apartment complex. Recognizable photos of the two suspects were then quickly disseminated to law enforcement, aiding in their arrest.
Further cementing the case against Tenry was the recovery of a firearm by a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office deputy in an unrelated investigation. Ballistic tests linked the weapon to shell casings found at the 7-Eleven crime scene, which were found in the possession of Tenry's cousin at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital. Details provided by the authorities outlined how this firearm connection further implicated Tenry in the double homicide.
