Jyineez Shamik Cruz was a 20-year-old from Meriden, Connecticut, known to family and friends as Neez. A graduate of Orville H. Platt High School who had enrolled in an automotive program at Porter and Chester School, he liked music, sports and had entrepreneurial plans he kept in his bible.

In the early morning hours of August 22, 2021, three days before his twenty-first birthday, Cruz attended a birthday party at a downtown Meriden recording studio hosted by Brandon Ramos. An argument in the parking lot escalated when Ramos walked to a car, produced a .45 caliber handgun and returned to shoot Cruz three times. Cruz was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meriden police identified 23-year-old Brandon Ramos as the suspect, obtained an arrest warrant by September 2021, and traced Ramos to Florida with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service; he was taken into custody on November 9, 2021, and returned to Connecticut in December to face charges that included murder and carrying a pistol without a permit.

If anyone knew Jyineez, his plans, or the events at the studio that night, please share what you know with investigators.