A Durham man has been sentenced to state prison after admitting he opened fire from a passing SUV and killed a man who was simply waiting for the bus.
On Thursday, 21-year-old Jaquari Y’zell Henderson pleaded guilty in Durham County court to second-degree murder in the July 2023 drive-by that took the life of 43-year-old Benjamin Francois Morris. Henderson received a minimum of 16 years and a maximum of 20 years and one month in prison, with credit for the time he has already spent behind bars. Morris was shot while sitting on a bench in the 1000 block of N. Miami Boulevard on July 20, 2023.
Plea and sentence
Henderson entered his second-degree murder plea and was formally sentenced this week in Durham County District Court. The judge’s order included jail credit that will shorten the remaining time he must serve, bringing an end to a long pretrial stretch that followed the summer 2023 killing. As reported by the Raleigh News & Observer, the plea and sentencing followed courtroom arguments from both prosecutors and the defense.
What investigators say
Police and court records indicate investigators linked the shooting to a stolen SUV and a social-media livestream. Surveillance video from nearby businesses, along with a public Instagram Live, captured moments surrounding the gunfire. Officers say a gray SUV pulled up to the bus stop, someone fired out of a passenger-side window, and the vehicle sped off immediately after the shots.
Investigators collected multiple shell casings at the scene and later recovered a firearm that they say matched what appeared in video evidence, according to reporting by WRAL.
Co-defendants and court status
Durham police also brought juvenile petitions against two boys who were 13 and 15 at the time of the shooting. Prosecutors later secured indictments against Henderson on charges of murder, conspiracy, and possession of a stolen motor vehicle…