More charges filed in pregnant woman's slaying

Calvin Boswell, 24, is facing charges of second-degree murder, among others, for last week's slaying of Ashley Thomas and her unborn child, Jackson County prosecutors say. Thomas was nine months pregnant, and her boyfriend was badly hurt in the shooting. Boswell is accused of being the gunman in the shooting.

KC homicide count stands at 104

Compared to 119 at the same point last year. KCPD's closure rate is 67 percent right now.

Charges filed in pregnant woman's slaying

Lionel Henderson is charged with two counts of second-degree murder for the slaying of Ashley Thomas and her unborn child. (Thomas was 9 months pregnant when she was shot and killed Friday on Armour Boulevard.) Other charges include first-degree assault for the shooting of the man with Thomas. It seems that a fourth person was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, but fled. (Another blogger, Toellner Tells It, has a post about the case here.)

Charges filed in Wilfredo Melgar homicide

I just got done reading the probable cause in the Wilfredo Melgar case. He's the man who was fatally shot while trying to chase down two robbers this weekend on 12th Street. How much did the bad guys get away with? About $83, plus two cellphones and a pack of Newport cigarettes, court records state.

KCPD names victim from weekend homicide

Wilfredo Melgar, 27, of Kansas City was the grocery employee who tried to chase two robbers on Saturday -- and was fatally shot in the process. KCPD later arrested two men after an Operation 100, and they now face charges of second-degree murder.

Grocery employee shot, killed while chasing robber

Police have arrested two men in connection with a robbery-turned homicide earlier today on East 12th Street. A grocery store's employee and his brother tried chasing down two guys who had robbed Abarottes Grocery, only one of them shot the employee near 12th and Bales. That man was pronounced dead later at the hospital. The brother followed the suspects to an apartment building, which police then surrounded. A couple of hours later, police arrested two men. Tony's story is here. And the official, original police statement is below the jump.

Pregnant woman killed in Kansas City

This is disgusting: A 25-year-old woman named Ashley Thomas was shot and killed Friday evening on Armour, in the 1300 block. Thomas was nine months pregnant. Doctors were unable to save her child. A man found with her is still in critical condition. Here's the KCPD statement on the shooting ...

Officers tonight were called at 518pm to the 1300 block of East Armor Road to investigate a shooting.  When they arrived, they found a male (driver side) and a female (front passenger seat) sitting in a car in front of an apartment building.  The male and female had both been shot.  

Charges filed in Taylor Holman slaying

Nathaniel A. Brown, 28, has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of Taylor Holman back on Sept. 13, Jackson County prosecutors report. Holman's body was found at Armour and Cherry, lying in the street. Police say they have witnesses who can tie Brown, a New Jersey native, to the crime scene.

Help ID these persons of interest

KCPD is trying to identify and locate these three people, who are persons of interest in the Maurice West homcide from Nov. 4. (West, 20, was killed in the 11600 block of Holiday Drive.) Police say the pictured people were at a convenience store near the homicide about an hour before it happened. As always, anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (474-8477).

KCPD names victim from Old Northeast homcide

From KCPD: The victim has been identified as Lisa M. McGuire, white/female, 04/20/1982, of Versailles, MO. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS hotline.

McGuire was found slain Monday night in the 3700 block of Roberts.

Are two KC murders linked?

KCPD is investigating whether two homicides -- one from Saturday, one from Monday night -- are related, Christine reports. Both occurred in the Old Northeast area. She also has more information about Amber Telford Khan, who was killed Saturday night near 11th and Van Brunt. Police haven't named the other victim yet.

KCPD investigating woman's homicide

From KCPD: Officers today (Monday) at 949 pm were called to 6th and Monroe (the Apple Market) to meet a male with information about a murder. When officers arrived, the male caller took them to an apartment building in the 3700 block of Roberts where the officers discovered the body of a dead female outside the building. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS hotline.

KC homicide count climbs to 100

Compared to 117 at the same point last year. Alonzo Washington noted this first on his blog. The clearance rate is 66 percent. Police have resolved 50 homicides that were committed this year, plus 16 from previous years.

Woman, 27, shot and killed near 11th and Van Brunt

From KCPD: On 11/14/09, at approximately 8:00 pm, officers were dispatched to 11th and Van Brunt on an ambulance call. Upon arrival officers observed the victim suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The victim was transported to a local hospital, where she died several hours later. The victim has been identified as 27-year-old Amber Khan. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816.474.8477.

Homicide suspect caught, charged with July double murder

UPDATE: Police have since caught up with the guy and taken him into custody. Darell T. Rodgers, 20,of Kansas City is charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in a double homicide in the 1000 block of Garfield in July. Cousins Kevin E. Todd, 20, and Richard Sanders, 19, were found shot execution-style in a car.

This just in from KCPD (they haven't said which homicide the guy is a suspect in):

Today officers attempted to stop a vehicle that they believed was occupied by a homicide suspect. The suspect vehicle refused to stop and crashed near 42nd and Wayne. Suspects fled the vehicle on foot. One suspect was taken into custody after the pursuit.

Officers have taken a second person into custody. At this time the suspect wanted for homicide is not believed to be in custody.

Officers are still on scene investigating.

| Sara Shepherd

Add one to KC homicide count

UPDATE: The victim has been positively identified as 23-year-old Jonathan Conklin of Kansas City.

The latest was discovered early this morning in the Northeast. Shooter(s) left one dead, another critically wounded.

Christine reports that police found one man with life-threatening injuries in the 3000 block of Peery Avenue. He said that he and a friend had both been shot, so officers began searching the area for the second victim, locating his body in a backyard in the 3100 block of East 12th Street.

| Sara Shepherd

Next-door neighbor guilty of elderly woman's murder

Neighbors described the victim as the matriarch of the block. She was found with her throat slashed, her jaw broken and worse.

"She had no reason to die like that, none whatsoever," one said.

| Sara Shepherd

KCPD names victim from homicide at 116th and Holiday

From KCPD: The victim is identified as 20-year-old Maurice West of KCMO. There are no suspects in custody and detectives ask anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at 816.474.8477.

1 man shot and killed in south KC

From KCPD: Today at approximately 4pm, KCMO Police were called to 116 St and Holiday Dr in regard to the sound of gunshots. Upon arrival a shooting victim (b/m approx. 20yrs old) was located in the street with no signs of life. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Witnesses state the victim was walking with another male when two black males approached on foot and shot the victim. The suspects ran north on 116 street and are possibly in a house on Longview Rd. Detectives are interviewing several witnesses in an attempt to locate the suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816.474.8477.

The Murder of Steve Harvey

This Thursday will mark 29 years since Steve Harvey, a local jazz musician, was murdered in Penn Valley Park. His killer was acquitted in state court, but thanks to Harvey's family and local activist Alvin Sykes, the feds took up the case and convicted the killer on a federal civil-rights charge. The case was featured on A&E's "City Confidential" a few years ago, and Aaron Barnhart wrote a good article about Harvey here.

Police name man killed near 31st and Prospect

This is the incident from Friday afternoon, where two men were shot, one fatally, outside the shopping center there.

From KCPD: The homicide victim is identified as 19yr old Tyler R. Creal, b/m, of KCMO. The case is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816.474.8477.

Guilty plea in two Northland slayings

From Meredith Rodriguez: A Kansas City man pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of two people in December 2006.

Lark E. Gardner Jr. had allegedly joined three others in robbing a home in the 4200 block of Northeast 44th Street. The home was believed to be a drug house, according to a probable cause statement from Kansas City police. During the robbery, one of Gardner’s co-defendants, Prentiss R. Fulton, shot and killed Angela Windle, 18, and Patrick Hooton, 22, while injuring two others.

1 dead, 1 injured in shooting at 31st and Prospect

From KCPD: Officers on Friday at 2:51 p.m. were called to 31st and Prospect to investigate a shooting. Upon arriving the officers found a male in the parking lot of the shopping center near Cash America Pawn. The man had been shot and was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A second shooting victim was located at another area hospital at about 316 pm. Detectives are investigating the possibility these two shooting victims may be related.

A witness reported the victim was chasing 2 other males through the parking lot. The victim was shooting at the 2 other males and the 2 males were shooting at the victim.

KCK teen charged in homeless man's death

From Christine Vendel: Jackson County prosecutors today filed an involuntary manslaughter charge against a 17-year-old in connection with the death of a homeless man in the middle of a downtown Kansas City street April 1.

A judge certified Isaiah N. Betts, of Kansas City, Kan., who was 16 when the crime occurred, to face trial as an adult. Betts is accused of punching Dwayne E. Smith, and leaving him unconscious in the street, where he later was run over by a car.

Return to the Paradise Motel

Another local blogger, Midtown Miscreant, has a piece here about the Paradise Motel, the scene of a murder back in 2007. Kusumben Patel, whose family owned the business, was found dead -- her grandchild, 2, was with the body, but unharmed. Double-M revisits the motel today to see what it's like.