On the afternoon of May 10, 2017, police in Kansas City, Missouri, were flagged down by a pedestrian near the intersection of 11th Street and Prospect Avenue. Officers discovered 25-year-old Caheemi Littlejohn lying in the street, suffering from fatal gunshot wounds. Despite the arrival of emergency responders, Littlejohn was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators located three spent.
40-caliber shell casings nearby, marking the beginning of a homicide investigation into the daytime shooting.
Witness accounts and surveillance footage played a crucial role in reconstructing the events leading up to the murder. A woman who had been driving a Ford Taurus told detectives she had given Littlejohn a ride that afternoon. She stated that she let him out of her vehicle near 11th and Prospect. Moments after he exited the car, she heard gunshots. Looking into her rearview mirror, she saw a man with his arm extended, appearing to fire a weapon, just before Littlejohn fell to the ground. Surveillance video obtained from a nearby residence corroborated her timeline, showing the victim stepping out of the Taurus and, less than a minute later, a small red four-door Saturn traveling westbound on 11th Street.
Detectives utilized license plate reader technology to track the red Saturn, which was detected in the vicinity of the crime scene around the time of the shooting. The vehicle was traced to 29-year-old Willie Warren. Further investigation led police to a relative's residence where Warren had reportedly visited on the day of the killing. During a search of that home, officers recovered a. 40-caliber handgun hidden under a couch. Forensic analysis by the Kansas City Police Crime Lab confirmed that the firearm was the same weapon used to fire the shell casings found near Littlejohn’s body.
In June 2017, Jackson County prosecutors formally charged Willie Warren with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with Littlejohn's death. Prosecutors requested a bond of $250,000, citing the evidence linking Warren's vehicle and the recovered weapon to the scene of the crime.
