On a tragic December evening in 2016, the life of 19-year-old Jacob Ryan Jones, a freshman at Western Michigan University, was cut short. On December 8th, inside the SoHo 700 apartments on Howard Street in Kalamazoo, Jacob, who was studying exercise science, was fatally shot. When officers from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety arrived at the scene around 10:30 p.m., they found him deceased.
The investigation into the shooting quickly revealed it was not a random act of violence. Authorities identified two suspects who had fled the scene. The investigation led to the arrest of Joeviair Kennedy, a Western Michigan University basketball player, who was subsequently suspended from the team. Kennedy was charged with open murder, home invasion, and armed robbery. Police continued to search for a second individual involved in the incident.
During legal proceedings, testimony from Kennedy identified his former Muskegon High School basketball teammate, Jordan Waire, as the person who shot Jacob. Kennedy testified that the original plan was for him to act as the driver while Waire went inside to commit a robbery under the guise of a marijuana deal. According to an eyewitness, during the robbery, the man identified as Waire, who was wearing a red bandana, pushed Jacob onto a couch. When Jacob tried to stand up again, he was shot in the face.
Jacob, originally from Onsted, Michigan, was remembered as a talented athlete who excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. He was described as someone who loved life and lived it to the fullest in his short time. The university community expressed their shock and sorrow over the loss of a promising young life.
