BRPD: Second suspect arrested after deadly home invasion

BATON ROUGE – Police have made a second arrest after two men broke into an apartment and shot the two teenage boys inside, leaving one dead and a second injured.

On Thursday, police announced the arrest of 20-year-old Kenneth Smith in connection with the Aug. 17 murder of Jywon Butler and the attempted murder of his brother. Smith was booked on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and home invasion.

Jamoriya Ben, 20, was also arrested earlier this month and booked into jail on murder and attempted murder charges.

> WATCH: Video of police escorting Ben to jail; Click HERE

Police said Ben and Smith shot 19-year-old Jywon Butler and Butler's 17-year-old brother. The shooting happened on Sherwood Hollow Court off Sherwood Forest between I-12 and Old Hammond.

The two victims were shot multiple times, police said, during a robbery. The victims posted pictures of money on a social media site, which may have made the suspects interested in the attack, detectives said.

“I never expected something like this to happen because growing up we just played basketball and football. It just shocks me to see him gone like that. It's crazy,” Treylon Nelson, a friend of the victims, said.

According to records obtained by the WBRZ Investigate Unit, Ben had pleaded guilty to motor vehicle theft several days prior. Judge Trudy White deferred Ben's sentence for six months.

Ben had been shot by Smith, police said, at some point either during or after the home invasion.

**************

Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz