It’s been one year since the community was shocked by the news that 16-year-old High School student Kedarie Johnson had been found shot to death in a 4th Street alleyway. Johnson’s friends described him as a “friendly and joyful” teen that “everyone loved.”
Jorge Luis Sanders-Galvez
Jaron Narelle Purham
Two Missouri men have been charged with the murder, authorities announced in January that 22-year-old Jorge Luis Sanders-Galvez and 24-year-old Jaron Narelle Purham have been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying. Des Moines County Attorney Amy Beavers says that Sanders-Galvez will be arriving in Des Moines County on Monday, and is expected in court Tuesday morning, meanwhile Purham is still resolving his charges in Missouri.
Rev. Fred Starling of the Faith Temple Church of God In Christ says that in the wake of this tragic incident, people have come together. “I think it has made us more aware as individuals to reach out to one another, to communicate to one another, and try to better understand one another,” says Starling, who held meetings at his church to discuss solutions to the violence in the community.
Kedarie Johnson’s murder left the community seeking solutions to an epidemic of violence, and hundreds attended a vigil in his honor.
