Alexandria man sentenced to life in prison for 2019 Roanoke murder

ROANOKE, Virginia. – According to RPD, Kai Lansana was sentenced today in Roanoke City District Court to life in prison for his involvement in the 2019 murder of 24-year-old Salonya Evans in Roanoke.

On July 21, 2019, officers responded to a report that someone had been shot in the 900 block of Morehead Avenue Southeast. Officers found Evans outside a residence with a gunshot wound and pronounced her dead at the scene.

As previously reported, Lansana, 32, was charged and found guilty of Evans' first-degree murder in May of this year.

In addition to the life sentence for premeditated murder, Lansana was also sentenced to five years for burglary and three years for using a firearm in the commission of a crime. The total sentence he must now serve is life plus eight years.