Young Central Kentucky couple charged after drug deal turns into homicide, police say
A Central Kentucky man has admitted to shooting and killing another man inside his girlfriend’s car over a drug deal gone wrong, according to court records.
Tyre Conner, 21, and Emilia Isabella Zahabi-Wisdom, 18, have been arrested and charged in connection to 21-year-old Jekobi Wells’ death, according to court records. Wells was found with gunshot wounds in Paris on Dec. 21, according to police.
Zahabi-Wisdom drove her boyfriend and a witness to the 900 block of Stewart Street to meet Wells for a marijuana deal, according to an arrest citation. The name of the witness wasn’t released. Wells got out of a vehicle with two other people in it and into the back seat of Zahabi-Wisdom’s Ford Fusion, according to arrest citations.
Wells had agreed to buy marijuana from Conner, who was sitting in the car’s front passenger seat.
The deal was entirely set up by the fourth person in the car, according to an arrest citation. The fourth person has cooperated with the police in their investigation.
Conner told police that Wells passed him the money for the marijuana, but it wasn’t the amount they’d agreed upon, according to court records. Conner wouldn’t give Wells the money back, so Wells lunged at Conner with Wells’ hand in his waistband and the handle of a firearm visible, according to court records.
Conner tried to fire three shots at Wells with a .22-caliber pistol, according to an arrest citation. The gun jammed on the third trigger pull, prompting Conner to grab a 9 mm pistol from the front floorboard and fire two more shots at Wells, police said.
Wells exited the vehicle at Williams Street and Marshall Street, which is where police responded for a report of an injured man. Wells was taken to a hospital but later died.
Conner ultimately kept the money that Wells gave him, according to an arrest citation. He was charged with murder, robbery and engaging in organized crime, according to court records.
Zahabi-Wisdom drove her boyfriend to meet Wells, knowing they’d be making a drug deal, according to her arrest citation. After the shooting, she fled the scene, and her car was captured on a nearby doorbell camera speeding away from the area.
Zahabi-Wisdom told police she “used to have a 2010 Ford Fusion,” matching the description of the vehicle involved, but the car was being detailed or cleaned, according to an arrest citation. She later admitted that she still owned the vehicle but claimed it was at a detailing shop, according to police.
She was charged with complicity to murder, robbery and engaging in organized crime, according to court records. She was also charged with evidence tampering because the car was cleaned.
Like Conner, Zahabi-Wisdom admitted being involved in the altercation, according to the arrest citations. They were arrested Wednesday, according to court records.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 8:44 AM.