Life in prison for ‘zero motive’ murder outside Ford Claycomo plant

A 27-year-old man was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for the 2016 killing of a man in a parking lot outside the Ford Claycomo assembly plant.

Deonte Buffington-Hardy was sentenced in Clay County Circuit Court, where he was found guilty in July of first-degree murder in the death of Brandon G. Nunnally.

Clay County prosecutors said Nunnally, 26, and Buffington-Hardy were friends.

Nunnally, who worked at the Ford plant, was shot multiple times in an employee parking lot.

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel White said the killing appeared to have “zero motive.”

“Nunnally and Buffington-Hardy seemed to be friends right up until the gunfire started,” White said in a written statement.

In addition to murder, Buffington-Hardy was convicted of armed criminal action and sexual misconduct.

After he was identified as a suspect, Buffington-Hardy exposed himself to detectives who were questioning him.