Texas bike shop employee found murdered inside store; suspect also dead

The bike community in Garland, Texas, has been shocked by two deaths in one week, local news station Fox4 KDFW reports.

On the morning of February 16, an employee at Don Johle's Bike World, arrived at the Garland, Texas bike shop to find his colleague deceased inside.

Police report that while the metal security gates had been left open, the external doors were locked and there was no sign of forced entry. Yet 40-year-old James Kencheloe, a store employee, appeared to have been shot and left for dead.

The unexplained death was immediately treated as a homicide and within hours, a suspect was named.

Police obtained the security footage which identified 58-year-old Wesley Don-Johle, a fellow shop employee and son of the store’s owner, as a murder suspect. However, when the SWAT team arrived at Don-Johle’s house to serve the arrest warrant, they found the suspect dead inside his home, deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

As police work to determine a motive for the murder, the Garland bike community mourns the loss of two of its members. The shop remains closed and flowers have been placed at the entrance in remembrance of Kencheloe. 

Don Johle's Bike World is a full service bike store that has been a staple in the local bike community since 1985. The store is named after celebrated BMX racer Johle, who retired in the store's founding year. Johle has 50 national BMX titles to his name, and with over 500 career wins, Johle is one of the winningest riders in BMX history.