TrayChaurde Harris was a young man with so much promise. So was the young man who shot him to death on an Augusta basketball court.
On Thursday, Aug. 18, in Richmond County Superior Court, the people who knew and loved 20-year-old Harris and K’Shon Vaughan, 23, gathered on opposite sides of a courtroom again for Vaughan’s sentencing hearing.
Vaughan’s family and mentors spoke of his character and hopes for the future they envisioned for him – his upcoming high school graduation, then college. He was on the path until the afternoon of April 28, 2018, at the Carrie J. Mays Community Center when he took part in a warring gang shootout across the basketball court.
But Harris wasn’t in any gang. He was just playing basketball with his friends, two of whom were also shot that day but survived, according to testimony during Vaughan’s trial earlier this month. Harris was in the Army National Guard.
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TrayChaurde Harris was Kyaundre Harris’ big brother, the person he wanted to be just like. Kyaundre Harris used to pay basketball, too, until his brother was murdered. He went from earning As and Bs in college to dropping out.
“I couldn’t do it,” Kyaundre Harris said, so he returned home, but Augusta doesn’t feel like home anymore.
“I hate it here now,” Kyaundre Harris said.
“This is tragic in more ways than one,” Judge Jesse Stone said of the case. It’s also an example of what gangs are doing. Gangs may cost society a whole generation, he said. A gang member handed Vaughan a gun that day. “These are not the people you should be looking up to,” Stone said.
Vaughan apologized to Harris’ family. “I am truly sorry for your loss.”
Stone imposed a sentence of life in prison plus 10 years, and an additional 15 years of probation. He will be eligible for parole in 30 years.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
