A suspect has been arrested and will be arraigned today in the death of popular St. Andrews Square resident Branden Finley, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident while biking in downtown LA in January. Finley’s wife, Angie Gonzales, contacted the Buzz yesterday to let us know about the arrest of the suspect, Ronald Earl Kenebrew, Jr., who has recently been jailed for other crimes, has now been charged in Finley’s case as well, and will today be arraigned on three felony counts of murder, carjacking, and hit and run in the events that led to Finley’s death.
According to a press release from local law enforcement agencies, provided by Gonzales:
“The Los Angeles Police Department’s Forensic Sciences Division, Serology Section, was able to find a DNA profile from evidence that was left at the crime scene. The DNA profile was submitted into the Department of Justice – Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), for analysis. On May 11, 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department was notified of a CODIS hit, which matched Ronald Earl Kenebrew Jr., 36 years old, from Lancaster.
Kenebrew has been in the custody of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department since February 11, 2021, on a robbery charge out of Lancaster. Detectives were able to positively identify Kenebrew as the person in the videos from a crime spree on the morning of Saturday, January 16, 2021. Freeman is currently on Post Release Community Supervision. The Los Angeles County Probation Department placed a custody hold on him while detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department continued with their investigation.
On May 27, 2021, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed three felony counts against Kenebrew. The District Attorney filed 187 P.C. (Murder), 215 P.C. (Carjacking), and 20001(a) V.C. (Felony Hit and Run). Kenebrew is still housed at the Los Angeles County Jail with a combined bail set at $2,200,000.00.”
Gonzales said she wanted to share the news with the community, where Finley was well known as a friendly, helpful, and always positive presence. “Nothing is going to bring back my husband,” she said, “but I want to make sure this person is off the streets.”
Gonzales’ GoFundMe campaign, to benefit Finley’s two young adult daughters, is also still active.
Thank you for providing this update about our beloved neighbor Branden Finley. We are all still in shock all of these months later.