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Two Missouri Men Charged with Killing Burlington Teenager in March 2016

Burlington Police Dept.
The two men pictured are currently being held at separate detention centers in Missouri on $2,000,000 bond each.

The Burlington Police Department has charged two men in connection with the death of Kedarie Johnson, 16, of Burlington in March 2016.

Jaron Purham, 24, and Jorge Sanders-Galvez, 22, both of Jennings, Missouri, each face one count of First Degree Murder.

BPD Lt. Greg Allen said the two men have been in police custody for months on unrelated charges: Purham in the St. Louis County Jail and Sanders-Galvez in the West Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron, Mo. Their bonds have each been set at $2 million.

The department said in a statement issued Wednesday morning that one of its detectives and an agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation served the warrants on the men this week.

The extradition process is underway. Allen did not know how long it would take, given the fact that Purham and Sanders-Galvez are already in custody.

Kedarie Johnson was a junior at Burlington High School at the time of his death. His body was found in an alley near the 400-block of Walnut St. on March 2, 2016.

Allen said the department has not released the cause of death.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.