Arrests Made In Slaying Of 17-Year-Old New Haven High School Student

NEW HAVEN, CT — Almost a year ago to the day, Keiron Quamari Jones, a 17-year-old New Haven high schooler, was shot and killed on a cold winter night on Orchard Place.

Thursday, police announced the arrest of two men, both are charged with his murder.

Jones, a junior at Hillhouse High School at the time of his death, was described by family as a "great kid who was loved."

"Unfortunately, he fell victim to a maddening pattern that's in New Haven. We definitely have an ongoing issue with gun violence," his sister Tiffany Jones said during a police news briefing on the arrests.

"I just pray that things get better and nobody else has to go through this," she wept.

New Haven police Det. Carmelo Rivera "worked tirelessly" as the lead in the case, Police Chief Karl Jacobson said, who praised the "team" of detectives and other officers.

Police charged Rodrigo Ramirez, 20, and Carrell Lee, 22, with Jones' murder.

Ramirez was charged with felony murder, murder, first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and carrying a pistol without a permit.

Lee was charged with felony murder, first-degree robbery, and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery.

They were both held on $2 million bail.

Jones' grandmother Carmen Torres described her grandson as a "good kid."

"We need to do more. We need help to help the younger generation," she said.

In his obituary, Jones' family wrote, that the teen hoped to become a "forensic scientist."

"He loved science. He also wanted to follow his second career path of Marine Biology because the ocean and its inhabitants intrigue him," they wrote. A high-honors student, he enjoyed academics and "had lots of friends and classmates who have poured out an abundance of love and shared memories that will forever be in their hearts."