On two days, a homeless man from Independence is accused of committing a murder in Jasper County, Missouri, and killing and beating a woman in Kansas City, Missouri. He is now facing charges.
Jose Cantarero-Benitez is charged with second-degree murder, stealing, and leaving a dead body behind in Jasper County Circuit Court.
According to court records, he is also charged with first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, and one count of car hijacking, all of which cause serious bodily harm.
A court record says that the crimes started on September 16 when Cantarero-Benitez and his brother, Adid Aman Cantarero-Benitez, were on their way to Oklahoma to buy methamphetamine but ran out of money.
Later, Adin told Jasper County police that he and Jose planned the gas station robbery, and Adin also told the police that he planned to kill the victim.
A court document says Adin shot 63-year-old Jesse Gilmore in the gas station parking lot and then drove Gilmore’s red Chevrolet Cobalt while sitting on Gilmore.
Gilmore was pulled from his car by his brothers, who then dumped his body in a ditch on Joplin’s I-44.
Gemore’s body was found by police on September 16.
On September 18, Independence police told Jasper County police that they had found the victim’s car, which had been used in a gun-related attack in Independence.
Court papers say that just after 5 p.m. on September 17, Independence police found a woman in Hill Park, 2201 S. Maywood Ave., who had been shot in the chest and left wrist.
She was lying in the grass next to the hood of a gray Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.
After about six hours, cops in Kansas City, Missouri, were called to a house to look into a report of a bear.
In the dark, they found Jose Cantarero-Benitez standing near the house. He tried to get away from the police, but they caught him right away.
Someone at the scene told the cops that she and Jose were drinking beer in Hill Park in the stolen red Chevrolet Cobalt.
She also told the cops A court record says Jose shot a woman in her truck at the park when she refused to give him her truck while being threatened with a gun.
He tried to steal the truck but failed because it would not start.
The court record also says that Jose Cantarero-Benitez was found to be in the United States illegally after a computer check. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put a hold on Benitez-Cantarero.
A court hearing for Jose Cantareo-Benitez is set for October 2 in Independence’s Jackson County Court.