‘The firearm went swimming’: Miami man accused of killing restaurant owner 21 years after victim murdered his brother
Jenkins denied knowing Wells had killed his brother, but GPS records and a missing gun reportedly helped police connect him to the shooting
A Miami man faces a murder charge more than a year after authorities say he fatally shot a restaurant owner who had been convicted of killing his brother in 2004. Investigators suspect the shooting may have been retaliation for the decades-old killing.
Jamar Lionel Jenkins, 39, was arrested on October 14 in connection with the October 10, 2025, death of Dwight Wells, 40. According to NBC 6 South Florida, Jenkins faces a second-degree murder charge after a masked gunman approached Wells while he played dominoes outside his Liberty City restaurant and opened fire.
Wells, who founded the anti-violence movement Wheels Up, Guns Down, died at a nearby hospital. Detectives spent the following year investigating the shooting before identifying Jenkins as a suspect. Evidence from an earlier firearms case became an important part of their investigation.
Jenkins’ account of that night didn’t match the evidence
Jenkins told detectives he was home asleep on the night of the shooting. He said he had the day off and maintained that nobody else had used his white Mercedes-Benz. However, investigators reportedly found surveillance footage contradicting his account, showing a similar vehicle near Wells’ restaurant that evening.
According to the Miami Herald, GPS records showed Jenkins’ Mercedes traveled approximately seven miles, making several stops before returning home. Detectives compared those movements with footage recorded around the time of the killing. When confronted with the footage, Jenkins reportedly couldn’t explain what investigators had found.
His phone records showed no activity between approximately 8:46 p.m. and 9:33 p.m. Wells was shot around 9:20 p.m., placing the killing within that 47-minute window. Although the records didn’t prove Jenkins’ location, the timing raised further questions about his whereabouts.
Detectives also examined evidence from a 2024 North Miami firearms case involving Jenkins and his brother, James. Ballistic testing reportedly linked five cartridge casings recovered from Wells’ shooting to a Glock pistol associated with that earlier investigation. Police had returned the gun to James in March 2025.
James reportedly told detectives that Jamar was the last person to possess the Glock. He also claimed he saw Jamar and their cousin wearing face coverings after Wells’ shooting. When James later asked for his gun back, someone allegedly told him it had gone “swimming,” according to the arrest report.
Investigators have not recovered the weapon. The ballistic findings and discrepancies in Jenkins’ account became central to the case against him.
Wells spent years fighting the violence that claimed his life
Investigators suspect Wells’ murder may have been retaliation for a killing more than two decades earlier. Wells was convicted of killing Jenkins’ brother, Anthony, in 2004 and remained in prison until October 2013. According to the arrest report detailed by CBS News Miami, another member of the Jenkins family told detectives that several relatives, including Jamar, still held resentment toward Wells over Anthony’s death.
When detectives questioned Jenkins in February, he reportedly denied knowing Wells had killed his brother. His account differed from what the relative told investigators, leaving the suspected retaliatory motive unproven.
After his release from prison, Wells founded Wheels Up, Guns Down. The movement became known for its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day rides, though some events raised road safety concerns. Wells later worked with Miami police to make the gatherings safer, an effort Police Chief Edwin Lopez recognized after his death. His killing also flags attention to the dangers facing community advocates.
“These cases don’t only impact the family; they impact the community,” Lopez told Local 10. He pointed to Wells’ efforts to work alongside police and steer young people away from violence.
Wells’ mother, Mary Brown, had spoken with her son about 30 minutes before the shooting. After nearly a year without an arrest, Brown welcomed the news that police had taken Jenkins into custody. “Oh boy, I feel like I got life again,” she told the station.
Jenkins remains in jail without bond. Meanwhile, Wells’ family and supporters scheduled a gathering at Miami’s Charles Hadley Park for October 25 to honor his memory.
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