BUYER BEWARE: Denver Man Convicted of Killing A Couple Who Responded to Online Car Ad

In a shocking double-murder case, a man was convicted of shooting and killing a couple who responded to an online ad about a car for sale in Denver. The convicted murderer placed the ad for the car, which had been stolen, in the hopes that whoever responded to it would arrive to view the car flush with cash.

A jury found Kyree Brown, 20, guilty of a litany of charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, second-degree arson, three counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft, felony theft, and bait advertising, as announced by the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Brown posted an ad for a Toyota Rav4 to the Letgo website in August 2020, and Joe Roland responded to the post, expressing interest in seeing the car. He and his wife, Jossline, later went to Southlands Mall to meet with Brown and view the car, but after Joe questioned the vehicle title, Brown told the couple that he had brought the wrong papers and asked them to follow him to his apartment complex where he pulled out a gun and demanded the $3,000 in cash the Rolands brought to purchase the car.

Joe and Jossline Roland reportedly went to buy a car advertised by Kyree Brown, but Brown shot them both during the exchange. https://t.co/KszAfi5pAY

— True Crime Daily (@CrimeWatchDaily) September 6, 2022

According to True Crime Daily, Brown then fired five shots, killing both Rolands, robbed them of the cash, and fled to another area where he set the car on fire. As Garrik Storgaard, Chief Deputy District Attorney, said in the statement, “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.” While he used a fake name on the ad, Brown didn’t really think his crime through as he used his personal email address as the contact in addition to his mobile phone number. Police were able to use cell phone data to track Brown’s activity the evening of the shooting and noticed that his mobile phone had pinged towers in three key areas: near the mall, at Brown’s apartment complex, and at the location where he set the Rav4 on fire.

As reported by the Denver Post, the arrest affidavit indicates that Joseph Roland grabbed Brown’s arm after he pulled the gun and the car started rolling, which is when Brown allegedly fired. Although Brown told detectives that he intentionally shot Joseph Roland, he said he didn’t mean to shoot Jossline. The couple were alive immediately after the shooting but died in the emergency room.

But the real victims in this tragic case are the Roland’s five children, ranging in age from 4 to 17 at the time of their parents’ death.  The Denver Post reports that after the Rolands died, police went to the family home where a 17-year-old was the oldest person there. They asked the 17-year-old to call a trusted adult to come their house before telling the children that their parents had been killed, the affidavit said. Now two years older, the Roland children are being cared for by relatives, and a GoFundMe established by a family friend has raised almost $250,000.