East St. Louis, Illinois – Kendrick A. Frazier, 35, and Kenwyn L. Frazier, 38, were convicted by a 
federal jury for the Kidnapping of Kein Eastman that occurred on August 13, 2020. The verdict was 
announced on Thursday, November 10, 2022, after a six-day jury trial.
Evidence presented at trial established that just before 7 p.m. on August 13, 2020, Kenwyn Frazier 
forced Kein Eastman out of his grandmother’s house at gunpoint because he believed Eastman had 
stolen from him a jeweled mouthpiece, known as a “grillz.” He drove Eastman in a Dodge Durango to 
an apartment located on Kansas Avenue in East St. Louis and forced him to look for the grillz for 
over an hour and a half. When Eastman couldn’t find it, Kenwyn Frazier called his brother, Kendrick 
Frazier, to the apartment.

Shortly after Kendrick got there, the Frazier brothers forcibly pulled Eastman out of the apartment 
at gunpoint threatening to shoot him if he did not take them to the grillz. They forced Eastman to 
the ground, repeatedly kicking and threatening him. Eastman insisted he hadn’t taken it, pleading 
with them not to shoot. Despite his pleas, Kendrick Frazier fired one shot at Eastman while he laid 
on the ground. After the shooting, witnesses saw Eastman bleeding from his face as he ran from the 
apartment complex. Kendrick and Kenwyn Frazier followed immediately after him in the Dodge Durango. 
Two hours later, that Dodge Durango was found on fire by the East St. Louis Fire Department, 
completely burned to the frame. According to other documents filed in the case, Eastman has not 
been seen or heard from by family members or law enforcement since the night of the kidnapping.

“This guilty verdict represents long-awaited justice for the family of Kein Eastman,” said United 
States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “I am proud of our office and law enforcement partners from the 
East St. Louis Police Department and the ISP PSEG unit for their commitment in seeing this case 
through to completion. I also commend the Eastman Family and members of the East St. Louis 
community who cooperated throughout the investigation to take a stand against this sort of 
senseless violence. These are the results we expect to see when dedicated public servants and 
community members work together to pursue even the most difficult of cases.”

“The ongoing commitment by ISP to reducing and preventing violence is built upon the outstanding 
professional investigative work of our special agents and sustained by our deep relationships with 
our law enforcement partners and the community,” said ISP Director Brendan Kelly. “The US 
Attorney’s Office has been and continues to be critical to the sustained effectiveness of this 
noble effort as seen in this case.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Summers and Zoe Gross.