2 men found dead in car. NC court records say it may have been ‘authorized’ by a gang
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- Kinney was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
- Kinney faces eight felony counts including attempted murder and conspiracy charges.
- Authorities said police believe the March 13 shootings were gang-motivated.
Police arrested a man Thursday who they say is responsible for the murders of two Durham men nearly three months ago — one of whom was a member of a once-burgeoning local rap group.
On March 13, police found Tevin Devonne Burney, 23, and Jarrett Godfrey, 26, fatally shot in a car near North Roxboro Street in Durham. A woman was also shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, The News & Observer previously reported.
Now, D’Monte Earl Kinney, 26, faces a slew of charges as police say he killed Burney and Godfrey and tried to kill two women in the car.
Police charged him with eight felonies: two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and discharge weapon into occupied motor vehicle in operation.
Police said Kinney conspired with a second man to commit the crimes. It’s unclear if that man has yet been charged in the case, but no related filings appeared in N.C. eCourts as of Friday afternoon. The N&O is not naming him because he does not appear to have been charged.
Burney was widely known as Young Boss Tevo, or YBT, a member of the former Durham rap group 83 Babies, The N&O previously reported.
The group was named after the Eight Trey Gangster Crips, a violent street gang in the Braggtown area in northern Durham. Much of their songs and social media presence promoted gang life, drug use and retaliatory gun violence.
The trio signed a deal in 2019 with Georgia rapper Rich the Kid’s record label — a branch of Atlantic Records, according to court records. But the group’s rise was soon halted after police arrested one of the group’s members — Antonio “Lil Tony” Davenport Jr. — for murdering 9-year-old Z’Yon Person in a drive-by shooting in Durham in 2019.
Davenport was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 for several crimes linked to Person’s death.
According to court documents, police believe Burney and Godfrey’s deaths were “very much believed to be Gang motivated violence authorized.”
The court records state investigators believed a woman helped Kinney and the second man escape arrest by “assisting in flight” within hours of the killings. At the time of the filing, police believed all three were likely to flee if they knew they were being sought by police, prompting authorities to request the court to seal the records pertaining to their outstanding warrant for arrest.
Police said two women were in the Honda Accord at the time of the shooting in March — one of whom was seriously injured and left fearing for her life. The N&O is not naming the women due to the outstanding risk of gang violence described in the court documents.
Kinney has faced multiple charges in the past, including possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm, possession with intent to distribute, assault on a female, and resisting a public officer.
Kinney was booked by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday but is being held without bail in Durham County custody, according to court records, due to the violent nature of the crime at hand and prior violent convictions. He’s set to appear in court Monday.
This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 2:18 PM.
