MINOT POLICE DEPARTMENT MEDIA INFORMATION FORM

A murder suspect held at the Ward County Detention Center awaiting trial has been charged with five felonies, including attempted murder, after an alleged attack on another inmate with an improvised weapon on Aug. 15.

Kamauri Kennedy, 35, is less than 30 days from a jury trial for the 2021 murder of Domonique Kelley, 33, in Minot, but Kennedy made an initial appearance in North Central District Court on Friday for slew of new charges after a jailhouse attack.

Kennedy’s initial appearance on the new charges was originally scheduled for Monday, but was delayed multiple times due to Kennedy refusing to appear.

According to court records, Kennedy filed an application for indigent defense services, and a proposed drag order by the Ward County State’s Attorney were both filed on Tuesday. Kennedy’s application was approved on Wednesday. The drag order, which is an order to compel a defendant to appear through reasonable force, was signed by Judge Todd Cresap on Thursday.

Based on court records, Kennedy has been charged with a count of attempted murder, a Class A felony; two counts of prohibited acts, a Class B felony; aggravated assault-dangerous weapon and tampering with physical evidence, both Class C felonies.

According to the declaration of probable cause, a Ward County Sheriff’s deputy was called to the Ward County Jail Thursday evening for a reported fight between two inmates. They arrived to find an inmate in the booking area bleeding heavily on the ground being treated by jail staff and emergency responders. Jail staff informed the deputy the fight had been between the wounded inmate, identified as John Doe, and Kennedy, which left Doe with multiple puncture wounds to his arms and the back of his head.

The deputy attempted to question Kennedy regarding the incident, but Kennedy stated he would not comment on what occurred between the two. Doe was interviewed at a Minot hospital after being treated for his injuries and said Kennedy attacked him unprovoked while he was watching television in the dayroom. Doe said he raised his hands over his head to protect himself and attempted to chase Kennedy up to the second floor of the housing unit before he noticed he was bleeding heavily. A review of the jail’s camera footage showed Kennedy striking Doe approximately 10 times.

Kennedy was the sole occupant of the cell on the block he shared with Doe, and jail maintenance staff were able to locate an improvised weapon from the cleanout for the toilet in the cell. Court documents described the improvised weapon as a bent piece of sharp metal 5 inches long wrapped in a brown-colored cloth.

A subsequent search of Kennedy’s cell located two metal bars and foot-long fiberglass material shards believed to have been removed from the cell window by force. One of the fiberglass shards had tape wrapped around the base as a handle to fashion it into a weapon.

According to court documents, jail staff located messages sent by Kennedy to another individual on a jail issued texting device from before and after the assault. In the messages, Kennedy allegedly said he was about to “Jmoney” Doe and his brother who shared a cell on the same block as Kennedy. Jmoney was a Chicago area rapper that was murdered in 2013. After the attack, Kennedy sent a message saying, “J money successful.”

A jury was empaneled on April 3 for Kennedy’s trial for the 2021 murder case, but was paused and rescheduled after the discovery of new DNA evidence was introduced the week of the trial to allow the State Crime Lab more time to complete its analysis. The trial is scheduled for eight days beginning with the selection of a new jury on Wednesday Sept. 18, concluding on Tuesday Sept. 27.