On the night of January 30, 2023, police in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, responded to reports of gunfire near Coal Street and Logan Court just before midnight. On nearby North Meade Street, they found Elijah Rivers, a 22-year-old Black man, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center but did not survive his injuries. An autopsy later confirmed that Mr. Rivers died from a gunshot wound to the chest, and his death was officially ruled a homicide.
Investigators determined the shooting was the result of an ongoing dispute. By piecing together surveillance footage from multiple cameras, detectives were able to track the movements of three suspects before and after the killing. The evidence showed what police described as an “ambush fatal shooting.” According to court records, Breanna Marie Knight, 28, drove Kadeen Karon Carruth, 21, and Yuamir S.
Grayson, 28, in a white Ford Focus from a local business called SGS Studios to North Meade Street, where they waited for Mr. Rivers.
When Mr. Rivers arrived and exited his vehicle, Carruth and Grayson allegedly got out of the Ford Focus and fired multiple shots at him, while Knight remained in the driver’s seat. Police recovered .40-caliber and .45-caliber shell casings from the scene. After the shooting, Carruth and Grayson ran back to the waiting car, and Knight drove them back to SGS Studios, where they reportedly changed their clothes. A witness later testified that Knight complained they had killed the wrong “Eli,” and a prosecutor stated that the three had mistakenly killed the wrong man.
Authorities arrested Knight and Grayson, while Carruth was already incarcerated on an unrelated firearms conviction. All three were charged with criminal homicide and criminal conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, with Carruth and Grayson facing additional charges of carrying a firearm without a license. Though they initially pleaded not guilty, all three defendants later accepted plea agreements.
In February 2025, Kadeen Carruth and Yuamir Grayson pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. Breanna Marie Knight pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit criminal homicide. On March 4, 2025, a Luzerne County judge sentenced both Carruth and Grayson to serve 15 to 30 years in state prison. On April 3, 2025, the same judge sentenced Knight to a term of 12 to 25 years in prison, bringing the case to a close.
