In the early morning hours of September 6, 2016, the life of 28-year-old Jaime Patton, a White/Caucasian male, was tragically cut short in Kansas City, Missouri. His body was discovered lying in the 13600 block of Holmes Road, initially mistaken for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. However, upon investigation, it was determined that Patton had been shot multiple times in what would unfold as a horrific kidnapping and carjacking that ended in his murder.
Patton, a technology department technician for the Belton public schools, was leaving a hospital where he had been visiting a family member when he was abducted. The perpetrators, later identified as Raynal King and Howard R. Ross III, forced him into his own Jeep Patriot. Their motive appeared to be robbery, as they drove Patton to several ATMs in an attempt to withdraw money from his bank account. Frustrated by Patton's inability to recall his PIN, one of the men shot him in the thigh to intimidate him.
As the ordeal continued, Patton made a desperate attempt to escape his captors by trying to jump from the moving vehicle. It was at this moment that he was shot several more times and left to die on the side of the road. The investigation quickly led police to King and Ross. Surveillance footage from the ATMs showed Patton's vehicle and the suspects. King was apprehended a couple of days later after being spotted driving a silver Pontiac that was also seen on surveillance near one of the ATMs. A search of King's apartment uncovered the keys to Patton's Jeep and his debit card.
Following King's arrest, Howard R. Ross III was also taken into custody. In March 2017, both men were federally indicted on charges including kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death, and multiple firearm offenses. Evidence presented during their trial included King's statement implicating Ross, as well as photos found on Ross's phone showing him with the same type of gun used in the murder. In February 2018, a federal jury found both Raynal King and Howard Ross III guilty on all counts. Subsequently, in August 2018, both men were sentenced to multiple life terms in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
