HERRIMAN, Utah, June 6, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Charges have been filed against a 19-year-old Herriman man in what prosecutors say was a planned, gang-related attack with weapons at a high school graduation ceremony May 29.
Keith Tyree McClendon was charged Thursday with first-degree felony aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury with a gang enhancement, as well as third-degree felony aggravated assault, for his role in a fight that left a 16-year-old boy dead.
A 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman also were injured in the altercation near 14900 S. Beckenbauer Ave.
Herriman police say McClendon and two 18-year-old men — all Mountain Ridge High School students — were with the 16-year-old Valley High student who later died near the Valley High graduation ceremony at Zions Bank Stadium, 14787 Academy Parkway.
The group intended to confront two Valley High students, a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman, who were at the graduation with the 17-year-old’s mother, according to police.
The 17-year-old said he and McClendon “had an ongoing dispute and had fought previously,” the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. “[He] stated that he believed he and [McClendon] had resolved their issues, but he had recently received threatening messages from [him].”
The 18-year-old woman also had received phone calls and threatening text messages from unknown numbers, and they decided to leave the ceremony, according to the district attorney’s office.
“When the three individuals decided to leave the event, they asked a South Jordan Police Department school resource officer to escort them to [the mother’s] car,” the release says.
The 17-year-old boy’s mother then drove them to the 18-year-old woman’s car that was parked nearby.
“[As] they arrived, [the 17-year-old] noticed a car driving past, and the driver looked at [him] in a weird way,” the release says. “[The boy] told [the woman] to hurry and get in [the] car. At that point, [McClendon] came around the corner, approached [the 18-year-old’s] car, and started pounding on the window.”
The three others with McClendon then joined him at the car and began banging on the windows, according to the DA’s office.
The 17-year-old got out of the car with a pipe but slipped, and McClendon allegedly began beating him with brass knuckles, the release says.
The 16-year-old with McClendon joined in the fight and sustained a fatal stab wound, according to police. He died at the scene.
The 17-year-old went to the hospital to be treated for a laceration and contusions to his face, as well as a dislocated shoulder, according to the district attorney’s office.
The 18-year-old woman suffered an injury to her hand, police said.
