Kenlon Johnson, 17, was shot and killed on March 8, 2024, in the Masterson Station neighborhood of Lexington, Kentucky. He was found in the 2400 block of Rockaway Place, rushed to a hospital, and later died of his injuries; his death was the city’s second homicide that year. A detective testified Johnson was unarmed when he was shot multiple times.

Police say surveillance showed five people arriving in a stolen vehicle and only four leaving; investigators concluded Johnson had been set up by friends. Months of work, including about 30 search warrants, an anonymous tip, cell phone location data, and DNA from a vape recovered at the scene led to the arrest of 19-year-old Jon’tay Mattingly in October 2024. Mattingly was charged with murder but the grand jury declined to indict in January 2025. Authorities believe four people were involved and no one else has been charged.

Johnson’s mother, Zenobia Simpson, said the two had grown up together and that others were involved; she remains convinced justice is unfinished. Did anyone in Masterson Station or the Lexington area see Kenlon with anyone on March 8, 2024, or have information about the people who arrived in that stolen vehicle?