Romito James Jones was 35 when he was shot dead just after midnight on October 6, 2020, in the parking lot of Miss Tracy’s Liquor Store in the 1000 block of Franklin Street SE in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids police found Jones fatally wounded by a gunshot; the Kent County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.

Investigators with the Grand Rapids Police Department’s Major Case Team linked the shooting to a conflict between local gangs. Court records did not identify Jones as a gang member, but he was reportedly in a car associated with the Bemis Gang when he was shot, a detail police say likely made him a target for rival members. Two people identified as members of the 7 Gang, 18-year-old Jamarie Bell and 26-year-old Shaquan Washington, were arrested and charged with open murder and gang engagement in connection with the killing.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the investigators handling the case.