Kansas City man charged in fatal 2016 shooting of 30-year-old father of three
A 35-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in a 2016 homicide in Kansas City after an inmate told police the suspect had confessed, according to prosecutors.
Terrance A. Jones, of Kansas City, was also charged with robbery in the Sept. 2, 2016, killing of 30-year-old Brandon Johnson. He was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the street in the 2800 block of Mersington Avenue.
Jones was with Johnson on the night of the killing, witnesses told police at the time. Jones told police as much during a 2018 interview, but he denied killing Johnson, according to charging documents.
One witness said Jones told her he shot Johnson after he made negative comments about his brother, police said. Jones told her he sold the gun to a friend after the shooting, according to court records.
In December 2020, two detectives went to Algoa Correctional Center, a prison in Jefferson City, after they received a letter from an inmate serving time for murder. The inmate had also written to prosecutors asking for leniency on his sentence, but the detectives said he did not mention it to them and they did not offer him any promises, court records show.
The inmate told detectives Jones previously said he killed Johnson after Johnson called his incarcerated brother a “rat,” according to charging documents. Jones said he struck Johnson in the face before shooting him five times, the inmate claimed.
The prisoner told police he came forward because “he wanted to give the victim’s family some peace of mind,” a detective wrote.
Investigators also determined the gun used in the homicide had been used in a shooting that wounded a victim in the 7600 block of Loma Vista Drive. One witness told police Jones had admitted to carrying out both shootings, prosecutors said.
A warrant for Jones’ arrest was issued Jan. 22, court records show. He was recently taken into custody in Columbia, Missouri, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Johnson’s relatives previously said he left behind a newborn son and a young daughter and stepdaughter. He worked as a before- and after-school teacher at George Melcher Elementary School and was also a volunteer coach for youth athletics.
“He loved kids,” his mother, Gaye Weston, said in 2016. “His dream was to try to open up a center for young boys to try to mentor them and keep them off of the streets.”
About a year ago, the victim’s family members came to the prosecutor’s office about solving the homicide, Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement Wednesday. Baker called it “gratifying” to bring the charges.
“I’m grateful for all the efforts by police detectives that resulted in these charges,” she said.
When prosecutors announced the charges, the Kansas City Police Department wrote on Twitter: “We don’t give up on seeking justice for victims.”
Jones did not yet have an attorney listed in court records who could be reached for comment.
