On July 4, 2022, the Kansas City, Missouri community was shaken by the violent death of 18-year-old Black male Jai’Bryn Johnson. In the early morning hours, approximately 3:30 a.m., a vehicle arrived at the Research Medical Center emergency room entrance. The occupants dropped Johnson off, who was suffering from critical gunshot wounds. Despite the immediate intervention of medical staff, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Preliminary investigative details indicated that the shooting likely occurred near the intersection of Bannister and Raytown roads before he was transported to the medical facility.
As detectives worked to piece together the events leading to Johnson's death, the case took a complex and tragic turn involving the driver who had brought him to the hospital. Identified as Demarion Benjamin, the driver became a key figure in the timeline of that morning. However, just three days after dropping Johnson off, Benjamin was found deceased on July 7, 2022. His body was discovered in the grass near East 51st Street and Lawn Avenue, and police determined he had also been shot to death. The close proximity in time between the two homicides led investigators to probe the connections between the victims and their associates.
Significant legal developments arose following the discovery of the second victim. Authorities arrested 25-year-old Malijahjuan M. Smith of Independence, Missouri, in connection with the violence. Smith was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action for the death of Demarion Benjamin. Court records revealed that detectives traced phone contact between Benjamin and an associate of Smith shortly before the killing. Although Smith initially denied knowledge of the crime, he later admitted to police that he was involved in the fatal shooting of Benjamin outside a parked vehicle. While charges were filed regarding the driver's murder, the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Jai’Bryn Johnson's initial shooting remained an active and interconnected inquiry for law enforcement.
