KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence man is facing charges in connection with the deadly shooting of Demarion Benjamin that occurred Thursday, July 7 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Malijahjuan M. Smith, 25, with second-degree murder and armed criminal action on Wednesday.

Kansas City police responded to a reported shooting just after 4:40 a.m. on July 7 in the area of East 51st Street and Lawn Avenue.

Officers found the victim, Benjamin, dead and partially in the grass and street.

Officers also found spent shell casings near the victim’s body. The victim had apparent gunshot wounds to his head and body. His death was ruled a homicide.

According to court documents, detectives found that the last phone number the victim had contact with that day was at 1:26 a.m., and that phone was connected to a person associated with the suspect.

The suspect told police initially that he didn’t know that the victim had been killed. But he eventually told police that he was involved in the victim’s deadly shooting outside of a parked vehicle. 

Prosecutors have requested a $150,000 cash bond for Smith.