LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas teenager has been sentenced to life in prison in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy during a botched gun deal.
WDAF-TV reports that a jury convicted 18-year-old Jaylen LaRon Johnson of Kansas City, Kansas, of first-degree murder last month. Sentencing was Friday.
Prosecutors say Johnson and two other men drove to Leavenworth to purchase a gun on April 14, 2021. The sellers allegedly sold a BB gun to one of Johnson’s friends. Authorities say Johnson began shooting when he realized it wasn’t the gun they wanted.
Eleven bullets struck the seller’s car. Twelve-year-old Brian Henderson Jr. was in the backseat and died in the shooting.
