Two Charlotte defendants will spend years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping Curtis Gregory Lampkin, whose body was found after a fatal shooting in southwest Charlotte in October 2024. The plea deal resolved a case that began with murder and kidnapping charges and ended with both defendants convicted of first-degree kidnapping.
Bionnah Jeanne Massey was sentenced to 73 to 100 months in prison, while Shamario Tyeast Bethea received 96 to 128 months, according to Queen City News. Both pleaded guilty Tuesday, and court records show that all charges other than kidnapping were dropped as part of a July plea deal.
Lampkin, 24, was found fatally shot on October 7, 2024, after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers responded to the 400 block of Peachtree Drive South. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department later announced arrests in the case, identifying Massey and Bethea as suspects in the homicide investigation.
Surveillance video described in court records showed Lampkin being confronted in a parking lot near Nations Crossing Road, punched and forced into the trunk of a Dodge Charger. Massey helped close the trunk and entered the vehicle as it left, with the car later traveling toward the area where Lampkin was found, Queen City News reported.
What The Plea Deal Changed
The case originally included murder charges, and Bethea also faced a charge related to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. With those counts dropped, the prison sentences now rest on kidnapping convictions rather than murder convictions, meaning the homicide allegations were not decided in a trial.
The arrests and the Secret Service-assisted effort to locate Bethea were previously covered by Hoodline. Tuesday's sentencing marks the latest major development in a case that had remained unresolved since Lampkin's death nearly two years ago.
