A jury found Jaheym Cheeks guilty on all charges, including Aggravated Murder and Kidnapping, in the execution-style shooting of 14-year-old Brylan Butcher.
An Ohio man, Jaheym Cheeks, 23, has been found guilty by a Franklin County jury for the 2022 murder of a 14-year-old runaway in a Columbus alley. The verdict, delivered on September 17, convicts Cheeks on all five felony charges, including Aggravated Murder and Kidnapping, as well as a firearm specification for each charge.
The conviction stems from an incident on March 5, 2022, when Columbus police discovered the body of Brylan Butcher, of Chillicothe, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head in the 300 block of South Terrace Avenue.
Butcher, a runaway, had been lured to Columbus from Mansfield by Cheeks, who, according to trial testimony, had planned the murder in advance.
Surveillance footage from the area was a critical piece of evidence in the case. One video captured the moment of the murder at 12:23 a.m., showing two individuals together, one dropping to the ground, and the other fleeing back to a vehicle.
This footage, along with other testimony, proved that Cheeks and a co-defendant, Justice Vereen, were at the scene. Vereen served as a lookout.
The investigation led police to Cheeks and Vereen at a gas station in Tennessee three days after the murder. While there, Vereen was observed discarding a gun, which was later recovered by the Kimball, TN Police Department. Lab testing subsequently confirmed it was the weapon used in Butcher’s murder.
Cheeks is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3. He faces a minimum of life in prison with parole eligibility after 26 years, and a maximum sentence of life without parole.
The Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office extended thanks to the Columbus Division of Police, the Kimball, TN Police Department, and its own investigation team, as well as civilians who provided key surveillance footage, for their work in bringing the case to a close.
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