Baton Rouge brothers shot, one killed, after posting images with fistfuls of cash, police say | Crime/Police

Police arrested one man and are searching for a second in a Thursday night fatal shooting that investigators say happened after the two victims posted a photo of themselves holding fistfuls of cash on a social media website. 

Jywuan Butler, 19, was killed and his 17-year-old brother was wounded after the two were shot multiple times when two masked men dressed in black clothing entered their Sherwood Hollow Court apartment through an unlocked window about 11 p.m.,  Baton Rouge police said.

While police were investigating the shooting at the Butlers' apartment in the 11600 block of Sherwood Hollow Court, they received another report of a third person who had been shot and was in a Canterbury House apartment, which is next to the Butlers' apartment complex.

An East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Medical Services crew found 20-year-old Jamoriya Tayreon Ben, who was wearing black clothing and had been shot multiple times, at the Canterbury House Apartments, according to the report. When police arrived, they found a gun wrapped in a black sweatshirt in a laundry room. The shell casings matched those found at the Butlers' apartment, according to the report.

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Investigators determined that Ben and a second masked intruder, whom police have not yet identified, entered the bedroom the Butler brothers shared and shot them multiple times, according to the report.

Jywuan Butler was pronounced dead at the scene and his younger brother remained in critical condition Friday at a hospital but is expected to survive, according to police.

Sgt. L’Jean McKneely, a police spokesman, said it appears the shooters were trying to rob the brothers after seeing posts on the social media website Instagram that shows them holding large amounts of cash.

“We believe that the money was the cause for the robbery,” McKneely said. “The guys saw that they had a lot of money on their person, and they were bragging about the money that they had, so they took the opportunity to make an attempt to rob these victims.”

Investigators are trying to determine whether Ben and the Butlers knew each other.

Ben, 2001 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Baton Rouge, was booked into Parish Prison on Friday evening on counts of first-degree murder, home invasion, illegal possession of stolen firearms and attempted first-degree murder.

Police said Ben was shot multiple times by the other assailant, though they are unsure if the shooting was accidental or intentional.

Wearing ankle shackles and using a crutch, Ben was escorted by police Friday night to a vehicle that was taking him to Parish Prison, chatting with a detective and wincing in pain with each step.

“I got shot with my own gun,” Ben said in response to questions from The Advocate. “I got shot about four times.”

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As Ben climbed into the police vehicle, he told reporters he felt sick.

“My prayers go out to his family," he said of Jywuan Butler. "I hope they find the real criminal.”

The Smith & Wesson handgun found in Ben’s apartment was reported stolen in a vehicle burglary Sept. 19, 2016.

Neighbors near the Butlers' apartment, which is at the end of a dead-end street lined with apartment buildings, said Friday morning they didn't hear any shots Thursday night but were alerted to what had happened when law enforcement officers descended on the scene.

Trel Ross, who lives in another apartment complex, separated from the victims' building by a tall wooden fence, said he went to Broadmoor High School with the younger brother who was shot and wounded.

He said the brothers' grandmother, who is in poor health, as well their mother and another woman Ross didn't know, live in the apartment with the brothers. Ross said he wasn't sure who was home at the time of the shooting.

He didn't hear any shots but heard the arrival of police late Thursday night and saw officers searching trash cans and the area on his building's side of the fence.

Ross said he's lived in the neighborhood for three years.

"This is a cool neighborhood. Everyone is chill and minds their business," he said. "I want justice for the dude who's dead."

Chad Shaffer said he was visiting family members who live in a nearby apartment and was there when the shooting happened, but he did not hear the gunshots.

He saw detectives taking pictures at the back of the victims' apartment.

"That's amazing to me" that such a shooting happened so close to his family, Shaffer said.

"One of my daughters asked to use my car to go to the store and came back in and said, 'The police are out there. The police are everywhere!' ”