BOSTON, Dec. 6, 2018—The two men who allegedly dragged 18-year-old Kemoni Miller alongside their car, killing him, were formally charged with his homicide today, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

DEJON BARNES, 18, and KENNETH FORD, 23, were arraigned today on murder charges in connection with the encounter last month that left Miller grievously injured and led to his death at Boston Medical Center. Ford was additionally arraigned on a count of using a motor vehicle without authority, and both men had previously been charged with unarmed robbery. Dorchester Municipal Court Judge Jonathan Tynes ordered both men held without bail.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Martin of the DA’s Senior Trial Unit told the court that Miller had on Nov. 16 negotiated the sale of an iPhone XS to Barnes online. That night, the evidence suggests, he met with Barnes and Ford on Gallivan Boulevard after the defendants travelled to the scene in a vehicle rented by Ford’s friend. From the passenger’s seat, Barnes allegedly took the phone and closed his window on Miller’s arm as Ford accelerated at a high rate of speed.

Miller was dragged about half a mile and suffered a life-threatening head injury when he fell from the car. He was transported to Boston Medical Center but never regained consciousness.

Utilizing cell phone records, text messages, witness statements, video footage, and other evidence, investigators identified Barnes as the individual who had offered to buy the phone from Miller and Ford as the driver of the vehicle that dragged him. Members of the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit arrested both men at a party in the West End in the early morning hours of Nov. 18.

Miller died Nov. 20.

Barnes is represented by attorney Kevin Mitchell and Ford by attorney Keith Halpern. They are scheduled to return to court on Jan. 22.

–30–

All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.