Man pleads guilty to two murders, sentenced to life in prison

OREGON CITY, Or. -- A 22-year-old man who killed two people in 2022 pleaded guilty to murder on Sept. 26 and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 30 years.

Kaythan Miguel Tenry pleaded guilty in Clackamas County Circuit Court to two counts of Murder in the First Degree. Other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.  

Tenry and another man, Frank Efrin Nifon, were charged with killing Jamahl Nash and Stanafurd Blacknall on Oct. 12, 2022.

Tenry and Nifon met Nash and Blacknall at a 7-Eleven store on Southeast Lake Road in Milwaukie. Surveillance video from the store showed Nash's vehicle entering the parking lot at 1:31 a.m. 

The car stopped and Blacknall spoke with Nifon. About a minute later, the vehicle pulled away and Nifon began walking toward the convenience store. As the vehicle drove past Tenry, he began firing into the driver's side and rear of the vehicle. Upon hearing gunfire, Nifon turned around and approached the passenger side and fired at the car as it sped out of the parking lot.

A short time later, Nash crashed into a fire hydrant near Southeast 122nd Avenue and Southeast Highway 212. Nash and Blacknall were found shot to death inside. Investigators found the vehicle had been hit by bullets 15 times and bullets struck all four sides of the car. 

The motive for the shooting remains unclear. 

Cameras from a nearby apartment complex caught muzzle flashes from the shooting and photos of the men as they walked back to an apartment building. Photos sent to law enforcement agencies aided in identifying Tenry and Nifon. 

On Oct. 14, 2022, a Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office deputy observed Nifon and Tenry at the Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital on Southeast Sunnyside Road.

Sergeant Ryan Castro had been investigating a separate shooting and recovered a firearm. A ballistic test showed that the gun matched some of the shell casings from the 7-Eleven incident. The suspect in the hospital at Kaiser was Tenry's cousin.

Nifon, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of Manslaughter in the First Degree and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing Nash and Blacknall.

Clackamas County Deputy District Attorneys Brian Powell and Jeremy Morrow prosecuted the case.

Clackamas County Circuit Court case 22CR55900