By Will Wright

wwright@kykernel.com

Lexington police arrested two suspects less than a day after Kentucky Kernel photo editor Jonathan Krueger was shot and killed near campus.

Justin Delone Smith, 18, and Efrain Diaz Jr., 20, were charged with murder and first-degree robbery the shooting. Smith was also charged with tampering with physical evidence, and fleeing and evading.

The mayor’s office reported that Krueger, an integrated strategic communications junior, was shot during a robbery just after 2 a.m. on the 400 block of East Maxwell Street. Lexington police arrived on the scene two minutes after they were called and found Krueger lying on the street, according to Police Chief Mark Barnard.

See more: Remembering Jonathan Krueger

Krueger, 22, was walking along East Maxwell near Transylvania Park with another person when he was shot. Krueger was transported to UK Chandler Hospital and pronounced dead at 2:35 a.m. No one else was injured during the shooting.

“At this time we don’t think there is any link between our suspect and our victim,” Barnard said.

Smith was not a UK student, police said.

It is unknown whether there was an altercation between Krueger and the shooter, police said.

Dazmond Morgan, who lives on that block, said he heard four gunshots at about 2 a.m. and saw Krueger lying on the street. Morgan’s neighbor, he said, saw a red van drive away from the scene.

“I came out and saw the victim lying on the ground by himself,” Morgan said. “I saw he had a gunshot wound in the chest.”

Police attempted to stop a maroon-colored van believed to belong to one of the suspects at about 3:30 p.m., according to a police report. When the police turned on their emergency lights, the vehicle took off “in a reckless manner,” according to the police report.

Officers caught up with Smith and apprehended him at his home on Le Havre Road about two hours later, according to the police report.

Diaz, who has pending felony charges in Fayette County, according to court documents, was arrested at about 6:45 p.m., on Queen Avenue, according to a police report.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that, according to court documents, Diaz pleaded not guilty to a first-degree burglary charge in connection with a 2014 burglary of a residence on Fort Harrods Drive.

Diaz will appear in Fayette County District Court on Monday at 1 p.m., according to court documents.

Krueger’s body was transported from the Fayette County coroner’s office to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort for an autopsy on Friday, then back to the Fayette County coroner.

John McCarty, deputy coroner in Fayette County, said he could not release the number or placement of gunshot wounds because the homicide investigation is still ongoing.

Krueger’s body was transported to Witzler-Shank Funeral Home in Perrysburg on Saturday.

Witzler-Shank will host a private ceremony for immediate family within the next few days and a public celebration of his life on May 31.