Valesha Parker, mother of the man who arranged the 2022 murder of Zaria McKeever, received a one-year prison sentence with a stayed 50-month term. She pleaded guilty to aiding an offender after lying to investigators and sheltering her son. The sentencing marks the conclusion of prosecutions for all five adults involved.
Valesha Parker was sentenced to one year in prison, with a 50-month prison sentence stayed for five years, provided she complies with her plea agreement. She pleaded guilty on March 25 to one count of aiding an offender after the fact, down from four felony counts originally charged in 2024. Police found the murder weapon at her Extended Stay Hotel room in Brooklyn Center, where one of the shooters told investigators Parker was present and aware of efforts to hide the gun after the killing on November 8, 2022, in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. McKeever, 23, was shot five times, including point-blank in the head, by two juveniles sent by her ex-partner Erick Haynes, who drove the getaway car. Their daughter was 1.5 years old at the time. Parker is the last of five adults sentenced in the case. Erick Haynes received life for first-degree murder. Foday Kamara got over 10 years for second-degree intentional murder. Eriana Haynes was sentenced to 41 months, and Tavion James to 364 days with a stayed 42-month term, both for aiding an offender. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison hailed the outcome as accountability for McKeever's family and community. “Nothing and no one can return Zaria McKeever to her family, her young daughter, and our community,” Ellison said. He thanked McKeever's family for their partnership and credited the Brooklyn Park Police Department, which led the investigation with assistance from Minneapolis police. The case shifted to Ellison's office after McKeever's family lobbied Governor Tim Walz to intervene, overriding a plea deal from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty that emphasized rehabilitation over prison.