Kent man arrested for 2020 fatal Renton shooting
Published 3:50 pm Tuesday, May 26, 2026
A Kent man was arrested six years after an alleged crime in Renton, where he was caught on camera, fatally shooting a man before he fled the scene.
According to the Renton Police Department, at approximately 9 p.m. May 21, near Benson Drive and Southeast 172nd Street, officers arrested Oshea Williams, 26, of Kent, for first-degree murder. Williams’ charge stems from a March 2020 incident where he allegedly fatally shot Jimm Route, 21, at 100 Rainier Ave. S., in a parking lot.
Renton police reported that Williams’ codefendant, J’Von Kelly, pleaded guilty to felony rendering criminal assistance for driving Williams to the shooting location. According to court documents, Kelly entered an Alford plea on Jan. 13, 2021, and he was sentenced on Jan. 22, 2021, to 12 months in jail.
“Six years is a long time, but our investigators never gave up on this case or finding justice for Jimm Route’s family,” Cmdr. Susan Lewis said. “This arrest is a testament to the persistence and dedication of our teams. We will keep working until justice is served.”
Williams’ arraignment is set for June 4. He is currently being held at the King County Correctional Facility with no bail, as a no-bail arrest warrant was issued for him in 2020.
Details of the case
Documents state that Renton Police responded to numerous 911 callers about a man shot while in a vehicle at the Formula-1 Fast Lube shop, 100 Rainier Ave. S. Officers found Route in the driver’s seat of a 2012 Ford Fiesta. He died at the scene.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed during the autopsy that Route had four gunshots to his left shoulder, back, and right arm, documents state.
According to documents, police collected video footage from a nearby business that showed Williams walking directly up to the rear driver’s door of the Fiesta and firing several shots into the rear passenger window from several feet behind the car. Williams then fled on foot. Additional video surveillance from other businesses showed Williams being picked up by a vehicle.
Detectives were able to identify the vehicle’s license plate and link the vehicle to Kelly. On March 11, 2020, officers pulled over the vehicle in the Skyway area near Renton and arrested Kelly. Video footage showed that the vehicle passed the location of the shooting at least five times prior to the shooting.
Prosecutors charged Kelly with first-degree rendering criminal assistance for driving the car that helped Williams flee the scene of the shooting.
Documents state that Kelly initially denied knowing anything about the shooting, and he was only driving around in the area during the shooting because he was very high on marijuana and was trying to decide where to get food from. Kelly said that he then found a friend, picked him up, parked, the friend left, and then he came back, breathing heavily. Kelly said he could tell the friend was involved in the shooting.
Detectives then obtained cellphone records from Kelly that reportedly included text messages on the day of the shooting. That includes a text Kelly sent just more than two hours after the shooting that read, “just dropped Oshea off.”
Police also tracked down video surveillance from a Chevron, 5148 Auburn Way N., in Auburn that reportedly showed Kelly filling up his car with gas just 28 minutes after the shooting and Williams exiting the passenger seat and walking into the store.
Officers then received further information that identified Williams as having been involved in the murder.
