Hickory Man Enters Guilty Plea In Murder Of Lenoir-Rhyne Football Player

A Hickory man has been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison for the murder of a Lenoir-Rhyne football player in 2022. The defendant also injured the player’s father, causing paralysis. 21-year-old Jakeis Zameir Harris was sentenced to serve 20 to 25 years in prison following his conviction for second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. He entered a guilty plea during Catawba County Superior Court on Monday (May 4).

The Honorable Troy J. Stafford, Superior Court Judge from Union County, imposed terms of the active sentence after Harris entered the plea a week before his cases were scheduled for trial. The fatal shooting occurred on November 5, 2022, and claimed the life of 20-year-old Khalil Rhynhart, a member of the L-R football team, and seriously injured his father, Eric Rhynhart. The Rhynharts had been to a football game earlier that evening and were going to get food along Lenoir-Rhyne Boulevard. After they left the restaurant and were driving along L-R Boulevard, shots rang out, striking both men in their vehicle.

Eric Rhynhart tried to stop the vehicle but was unable to do so because of injuries from the bullet that struck him and eventually crashed into an embankment to stop and try to help his son, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy report showed that Khalil Rhynhart was struck in the shoulder and back with perforations to his lung, aorta and pancreas that led to his death. The shooting also left Eric Rhynhart paralyzed from the sternum down and bound to a wheelchair with constant care needed.

Investigators from the Hickory Police Department found numerous 9-millimeter and .223 rifle shell casings in the roadway where video footage from nearby businesses showed the shooting as it took place. Surveillance video showed the Rhynharts speaking to a man near an SUV outside a restaurant as they walked to their vehicle. The SUV is seen leaving the parking lot after the Rhynharts, and multiple gunshots can be seen fired from the SUV toward the victims’ vehicle.

Witness accounts given to law enforcement by co-defendants in the case identified Harris as the shooter. Physical and digital evidence recovered during the investigation corroborated Harris as the shooter. He was located and arrested on December 2, 2022.

Khalil Rhynhart’s’s sister and father addressed the Court, talking about their loved one and how his loss had impacted the lives of their family members. “(Harris) took a lot from me that night,” Eric Rhynhart said. “A loved one, a child … he took my best friend. I miss him so much.”

Tammie Johnson handled the investigation for Hickory Police Department. Chief Assistant District Attorney Tim Gould prosecuted the matter for the State with aid from Legal Assistant Amy Bishoff.

Story: Rob Eastwood-WHKY