2nd teen charged in deadly shooting outside Dayton rec center

A second 18-year-old is charged with murder in a January shooting outside the Greater Dayton Recreation Center.

Kyree Gerald Whitaker of Dayton is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Dayton Municipal Court for murder and three counts of complicity to commit aggravated robbery, which were filed Wednesday.

Kyree Whitaker

Credit: Montgomery County jail

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Credit: Montgomery County jail

The gunshot victim, 20-year-old Isaiah Murray, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger.

Officers responded around 12:25 p.m. Jan. 12 to the rec center at 2100 W. Third St. on a report of a shooting that led the rec center and nearby Roosevelt Elementary School to go on lockdown as police searched for suspects.

Whitaker reportedly displayed a firearm during the robbery of three men, which led to Murray’s death, according to an affidavit.

“Mr. Whitaker conspired with several other people to set up and complete the robbery. During the robbery, Isaiah Murray was shot and killed as a proximate result,” the affidavit stated.

William Lamont Brown Jr., 18, of Clayton, also faces murder and complicity charges in Murray’s death. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court after a grand jury indicted him Tuesday.

Dayton Police on the scene at a fatal, shooting Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, at the greater Dayton recreation center at Roosevelt Commons on Third Street. MARSHALL GORBY\STAFF

Credit: Marshall Gorby

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Credit: Marshall Gorby

Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns said previously that numerous shots were fired, including a round that hit a window at the rec center.

A 911 caller said he was pulling into the parking lot when he heard gunfire, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center records.

“There was just a shooting,” the caller said. “Somebody definitely got shot. It looked like the guy shot him, he went down and then the guy shot him again.”

Whitaker is held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail awaiting arraignment, and Brown is held on $1 million bail.

William Brown Jr.

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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