On a summer evening in Kansas City, Missouri, the life of 22-year-old Brandon Rainey, a Black / African American man, was tragically cut short. On August 25, 2020, Rainey and 18-year-old Jahmiere Green were found inside a vehicle in the East Bottoms neighborhood, near Guinotte and North Montgall avenues. Both men had been shot and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The discovery was made by police officers who responded to reports of a shooting in the area around 8 p.m.
The investigation into the double homicide revealed a chilling sequence of events captured on surveillance video. A white SUV was seen following the gold Honda that Rainey and Green were in. The footage showed the SUV pulling up alongside the driver's side of the Honda before the victims' car slowly rolled to a stop. Investigators later tracked the SUV to a parking lot where a man matching the description of a person who had met with one of the victims earlier that day was seen exiting the vehicle.
This crucial evidence led authorities to identify a suspect, 36-year-old Cleon D. White. Following his arrest, White stood trial for the murders. In January 2024, a Jackson County jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. For his crimes, Cleon D. White was sentenced to consecutive life sentences for the murders, in addition to another 65 years for the other charges, bringing a measure of justice to the families of Brandon Rainey and Jahmiere Green.
