On September 16, 2024, 63-year-old male Jesse R. Gilmore Jr. was the victim of a violent fatal carjacking in Joplin, Missouri. Early that morning, around 3:30 a.m., Gilmore was sitting inside his red 2010 Chevy Cobalt at a Road Ranger gas station. While parked, he was approached by a stranger who engaged him in a brief conversation. The encounter abruptly turned deadly when the individual produced a firearm and shot Gilmore in the head.
Following the shooting, the assailant pushed Gilmore’s body across the seat, took control of the vehicle, and drove away from the scene.
Authorities later discovered Gilmore's body dumped in a ditch along Interstate 44 near mile marker 14.8 in Jasper County. The discovery was made around 5:25 p.m. later that same day, prompting an immediate investigation by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Investigators quickly utilized surveillance footage from the gas station to piece together the events leading to Gilmore's death and to identify the vehicle, which was missing from the scene.
Law enforcement identified the suspects as two brothers, 26-year-old Adin Aman Cantarero Benitez and 20-year-old Jose Benitez, both Honduran nationals. The brothers allegedly committed the crime because they were stranded in Joplin and needed money and transportation. After fleeing Joplin in Gilmore's stolen vehicle, the pair traveled north to the Kansas City area, where their crime spree reportedly continued. Police in Independence, Missouri, encountered the suspects following reports of a separate carjacking and shooting incident involving a woman who was critically injured.
Adin Benitez was taken into custody in Independence on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, while his younger brother, Jose Benitez, was arrested nearby shortly before midnight after fleeing the scene of the second attack. Officers recovered Gilmore's red Chevy Cobalt in the vicinity of the arrests. Prosecutors in Jasper County subsequently charged Adin Benitez with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and first-degree robbery. Jose Benitez also faced pending charges related to the homicide and the events that unfolded during their flight from the initial crime scene.
