Ra’Juan Spicer was an 18-year-old from Topeka, Kansas, remembered by loved ones as a caring young man with a kind heart who could always make people laugh. Known to some as "Ray," he had attended Shaner Elementary and Topeka West High School. His life was cut short in the early evening of October 11, 2023.
Just after 5:30 p.m. that Wednesday, Topeka police officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 1200 block of SW Clay Street.
First responders arrived to find Ra’Juan, a Black / African American male, suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound. Despite the efforts of emergency medical personnel, he was pronounced deceased at the scene. His death was recorded as the city’s 28th homicide of the year.
The investigation quickly led police to identify a person of interest. They asked for the public’s help in locating 17-year-old Reginald Rucker-Plakio of Topeka in connection with the shooting. After a search that lasted over a month, Rucker-Plakio was apprehended on November 21, 2023. A team of U.S. Marshals, Shawnee County Sheriff's deputies, and Topeka Police officers located him near 21st and Auburn Road and took him into custody after a brief foot pursuit. Later that day, detectives executed a search warrant at a residence in the 3400 block of SW Kirklawn Avenue.
Rucker-Plakio was initially booked into the Shawnee County Juvenile Department of Corrections on requested charges of first-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. In April 2025, prosecutors formally charged Rucker-Plakio, then 19, as an adult with first-degree premeditated murder and multiple other felonies.
A jury trial began in Shawnee County, but it was halted on January 30, 2026, when Rucker-Plakio accepted a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to amended charges of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated battery, and several other charges were dismissed. As of January 2026, he was awaiting his sentencing, which was scheduled for March 13.
