KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence man identified as homeless is facing charges in connection to a 2-day crime spree that includes an alleged murder in Jasper County, Missouri, and the shooting and beating of a woman in Kansas City, Missouri.
Jose Cantarero-Benitez faces second-degree murder, robbery and abandonment of a corpse charges in Jasper County Circuit Court.
He's also charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of vehicle hijacking - serious physical injury, according to court documents.
The alleged crimes began Sept. 16 when Cantarero-Benitez and his brother, Adid Aman Cantarero-Benitez, ran out of money on the way to Oklahoma to buy methamphetamine, a court document states.
Adin later told Jasper County investigators he and Jose planned the robbery at a gas station and Adin admitted to police he intended to kill the victim.
Adin allegedly shot 63-year-old Jesse Gilmore in the parking lot of the gas station and drove Gilmore's red Chevrolet Cobalt while sitting on Gilmore, a court document states.
The brothers dragged Gilmore from his car and dumped his body in a ditch on Interstate 44 in Joplin.
Police found Gimore's body on Sept. 16.
Independence police notified Jasper County authorities on Sept. 18 they found the victim's car after it had been used in an Independence assault with a firearm.
The court documents state Independence police officers found a woman with a gunshot wound to her chest and left forearm just after 5 p.m. Sept. 17 in Hill Park, 2201 S. Maywood Ave.
She was in the grass next to the driver's side of a gray Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.
About six hours later, Kansas City, Missouri, police officers were sent to a house to check on a report of a prowler.
They found Jose Cantarero-Benitez standing in the dark near the residence. He tried to run from the officers, but was quickly caught.
A person at the scene told police she and Jose were drinking beer in the stolen red Chevrolet Cobalt in Hill Park.
She also told police Jose shot a woman in her truck at the park when she refused at gunpoint to give him her truck, a court document states.
He tried to steal the truck, but could not get the truck to start.
The court document also states a computer check revealed Jose Cantarero-Benitez to be in the United States illegally. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency put a detainer on Benitez-Cantarero.
Jose Cantareo-Benitez is scheduled for a hearing Oct. 2 in Jackson County Court in Independence.
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Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
