In the summer of 2020, Joseph and Jossline Roland needed a used car, and they found an online listing for a 2017 Toyota Rav4 that looked promising.
Or so they thought.
The Rolands ended up dead when they met with Kyree Brown, then 18, who used the alias of Worthy in the ad and had actually stolen the car a few days before, according to hisarrest affidavit.
On Wednesday, more than two years after the tragic killings, a jury convicted Brown, now 20, of murdering the Rolands.
Kyree Brown.Aurora Police Department
“This cowardly act of violence leaves five children without their parents,” District Attorney John Kellner said in astatement,noting that the couple’s children are all under the age of 19.
“I think about the back-to-school nights without their parents,” he said. “The bedtime stories never read. Words just can’t describe what this killer took away.”
Brown was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder; two counts of first-degree murder - felony murder; two counts of aggravated robbery; second-degree arson; three counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft, felony theft; and bait advertising.
The investigation showed that Brown used a fake name to advertise a stolen vehicle for sale on the Letgo app, according to the district attorney’s statement.
On the day he murdered them, Brown drove the stolen vehicle to Southlands Mall in Aurora to meet with the Rolands.
Joe and Jossline Roland.Facebook
When Joe Roland raised issues about the title of the car, Brown pulled out a gun and demanded the couple hand over the cash they’d brought to purchase the car, the statement says.
Brown then fired the gun five times, killing both Joe and Jossline Roland, who died five minutes apart from each other, authorities said.
“This defendant assumed a fake identity to lure this innocent couple into his snare, pretending to be someone he wasn’t and to sell a car he didn’t own,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Garrik Storgaard said in the statement.
“He callously ended two innocent lives for a few thousand dollars and his selfish actions created an unjustifiable risk to the community and displayed no regard for the value of human life,” he said.
After the shooting, Brown stole approximately $3,000 from the couple that they were going to use to buy the car. Then, he fled the scene.
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He dumped the stolen car near the area of Havana Street and East Colfax Avenue in Aurora and set it on fire.
He was arrested on Aug. 27, 2020.
‘Kind, Fun, Generous People’
In the wake of the Rolands' murders, their longtime friend Brittany Southerland started aGoFundMe pageto raise money for a trust for the couple’s five children.
“On Friday, August 14, Joe and Jossline Roland were senselessly murdered,” she wrote. “They leave behind five sweet children.”
Describing the couple as “kind, fun, generous people,” Southerland wrote, “Anyone who knew Joe and Jossline would remember they were always the first to help. They were the best people you could know and their door was always open to friends and family.
“We would like to raise money for their children. No amount of money can replace what they’ve lost, but maybe we can pull together and provide some financial security for them.”
Brown will be sentenced on Nov. 21.
His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
source: people.com
