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Video shows Kansas City Chiefs watch party host handcuffed after friends’ bodies found

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Video shows Kansas City Chiefs watch party host handcuffed after friends’ bodies found

A video showing a detained, handcuffed Jordan Willis was captured by a neighbor on the night police discovered the bodies of his friends Clayton McGeeney, Ricky Johnson and David Harrington in his Kansas City backyard. 

Although the video is only seconds long, neighbor Ashton Brady, 25, told Fox News Digital that there was a heavy police presence at the house across his street on Jan. 9 for at least an hour and a half before he went to bed. 

First, Brady said, he saw a distressed-looking woman hurrying from the house and making a phone call – according to the Kansas City Police department, McGeeney’s fiancée dialed 911 for a welfare check to the Northwest 83rd Terrace home around 8:51 p.m. that night. 

Family members told Fox News Digital that she discovered the first body after she frantically broke onto Willis’ property, unable to reach him or her partner. She allegedly knocked at the door and even shouted Willis’ name from inside the house before making the discovery. 

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS DEATHS: JORDAN WILLIS CHECKS INTO REHAB AS FAMILIES AWAIT TOXICOLOGY RESULTS

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In a still taken by neighbor Ashton Brady, Jordan Willis can be seen in handcuffs and boxer shorts, surrounded by police on the evening of Jan. 9. His friends Ricky Johnson, David Harrington and Clayton McGeeney were found dead on his property that evening – Kansas City Police have told Fox News Digital that they do not suspect foul play in their deaths. (Fox News Digital)

“I just thought when I saw her, I thought it was weird watching her walk from the side of the house – she came out through the back,” Brady recalled in a Wednesday interview. “It was weird, the pace she was walking and talking on the phone. She looked back over her shoulder every so often at the house.” 

“She looked upset for sure, like she didn’t know what was going on or anything,” he said.

Brady went back into his house, but returned to watch the scene across the street after seeing the lights of an ambulance through his bedroom window. 

“We woke up and there were cops up and down the street and caution tape – you couldn’t go anywhere.”

— Neighbor Maya Dukes

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By the time he got back outside, he said, about four police cars had amassed across the street and police officers surrounded a handcuffed man wearing just boxers or sleep shorts. 

“He was detained for probably, like, 30 to 45 minutes. He was shirtless for 10 or 15 minutes and then a police officer grabbed a jacket out of the house,” Brady said. 

Lights inside the house remained off, but Brady said he could see officers’ flashlights through its windows as police conducted their search. At some point, he said, he could see lights coming from the backyard. 

As time passed, the police presence grew – what was initially just four cars became eight or 10 on the small street, he said. 

“He was handcuffed and the woman was with the other police talking, so I figured a dispute broke out, and they were getting both sides of a story,” Brady said. “I thought ‘maybe they just got into an argument’ – at the time I didn’t know they found bodies… I thought it was strange that I saw the police go through the house.”

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“People asked if I saw any bodies come out, I never did,” he said. 

Attorney and retired NYPD inspector Paul Mauro told Fox News Digital that no meaningful insights about the case can be inferred from the manner in which Willis was detained: 

“You can cuff for your own safety, and they did have three [dead on arrivals], so they didn’t know what they were into here,” Mauro said of police at the scene.

HIV scientist Jordan Willis, 38, checked himself into a rehab facility after his three friends were found dead in his backyard on Jan. 9. It is unclear whether drugs played a role in their death, as their toxicology results are still pending. (GitHub)

After about an hour and a half, Brady said, the woman and the man he now knows to be Willis were taken away in police cars. At some point Willis was uncuffed, because Brady could “see his arms moving.” 

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Another neighbor, Maya Dukes, told Fox News Digital that there was still a police presence at Willis’ home around 4 a.m. the next day.

“We woke up and there were cops up and down the street and caution tape – you couldn’t go anywhere,” she recalled. “They didn’t have their lights on or anything, they were just out on the street and at that house.”

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Brady would only learn the extent of the tragedy that took place across the street the next day: 

“My roommate texted me at work – I was like ‘holy s—, I didn’t know that.”

Brady said that he and his roommate had just moved from elsewhere in Kansas City to the house across the street from Willis, and had spent the previous week settling in. He was away on a hunting trip with friends on the weekend of the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Los Angeles Chargers, when the men were last seen alive at Willis’ home on Jan. 7. 

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KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS FOUND DEAD IN FRIEND’S BACKYARD: WHAT TO KNOW

David Harrington, Clayton McGeeney and Ricky Johnson were found dead outside their friend’s Kansas City home on Jan. 9, 2024. (Ricky Johnson/Facebook)

Dukes said she noticed trucks parked outside the house because they were parked in “a weird spot where people don’t normally leave their cars.”

The two trucks are visible in Brady’s video. Family members of the deceased men have criticized Willis for not noticing that his friend’s vehicles were still on his street and thinking something was amiss. 

In the days following Willis’ arrest, Johnson’s family told Fox News Digital they retrieved their son’s vehicle. Brady said the other car left the street, as well, but was unsure whether it was driven or towed away. It is unclear when the three men arrived at Willis’ home.

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KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FAN DEATHS: JORDAN WILLIS ‘DEPRESSED’ OVER ‘WILD SPECULATIONS’ ABOUT PALS, SOURCE SAYS

An exterior view of the backyard and porch of Jordan Willis’s home in Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. The bodies of Willis’ three friends – Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGeeney, and David Harrington – were found in Willis’ backyard, with one body found on the porch, on Jan. 9, 2024, two days after attending a Kansas City Chiefs watch party at the home. (DWS for Fox News Digital)

“It’s kind of weird,” Brady said of moving into his new home as the tragedy was unfolding. “It’s been… I don’t know, it’s been interesting for me. At first, I didn’t know if I should say anything [about the video], I didn’t know how big of a deal it was. I kind of wish I didn’t say anything because now my phone’s blowing up and people are hitting me up. [But] I just feel for the families… hopefully it helps a little bit.”

He said he had never seen Willis before that night. 

“I have theories on it,” Brady said when asked what he thought of the mysterious deaths across the street. “I personally, I don’t know. It’s weird to me. The weirdest thing to me is if it was an overdose, no one called or anything like that – I went to school and partied – usually when something like that happens, when you call the police or the ambulance, no one usually gets in trouble.”

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Ashton Brady poses for a photo on his front porch in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. Brady’s neighbor, Jordan Willis, was briefly detained while police searched his home after three of his friends were found dead in his backyard after a football watch party earlier in January. (DWS for Fox News Digital)

The Kansas City Police Department has told Fox News Digital that the deaths of the three men are “100 percent not being investigated as a homicide,” and that Willis is not considered a suspect. Toxicology reports will take six to eight weeks to process, according to the private company contracted by Platte County to carry out autopsies, while their full autopsy reports will not be released for another 10 to 12 weeks. 

Willis’ attorney, John Picerno, said that his client works from home, slept for “a lot” of the time between allegedly seeing the three men out of his house after the Chiefs game. Therefore, Picerno said, he did not see messages or phone calls, and did not hear concerned loved ones knocking at his door.

PARENTS OF KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS FOUND DEAD THINK VICTIMS ‘SAW SOMETHING THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE SEEN’ 

Family and friends of Clayton McGeeney, left, David Harrington, center, and Ricky Johnson, right, are clamoring for answers after the three men inexplicably died in freezing temperatures outside their friend’s Kansas City home. (Facebook)

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Willis checked himself into an inpatient rehab facility shortly after moving out of his house and is “facing his addiction head-on” after the “enormous, heartbreaking wake-up call” of “los[ing] three of his close friends under extremely tragic circumstances,” a source close to the family told Fox News Digital.

Two men were seen loading Willis’ belongings into a U-Haul truck in the days following Jan. 9, neighbors said – the source said that it has since been moved into storage, and that he is “still cooperating with the police department in their investigation.”

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Kansas

Deadly 4-car crash kills 2 people, injures others in Kansas City

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Deadly 4-car crash kills 2 people, injures others in Kansas City


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A crash near a busy highway killed two people and injured two others.

Emergency crews responded to the crash at U.S. 71 Highway and Meyer Boulevard around 12:40 p.m. on Monday, March 2.

When crews arrived they determined four cars were involved in the crash.

Police are investigating how the crash happened.

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Michigan

Opportunity knocks for Michigan’s guards with L.J. Cason out

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Opportunity knocks for Michigan’s guards with L.J. Cason out


Ann Arbor — The Wolverines won the outright Big Ten regular-season title with two games to go, but it came at a great cost.

L.J. Cason, Michigan’s backup point guard and a key piece of the rotation, tore his right ACL in the championship-clinching win at Illinois. Just like that, Cason’s season was over and Michigan was hit with a brutal blow.

But when adversity strikes, opportunity knocks. While the team won’t be the same without Cason, coach Dusty May believes Michigan has backcourt pieces who can step up and make up for the loss.

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“This is a great opportunity for Roddy (Gayle Jr.), Trey (McKenney) and Nimari (Burnett) to play more, and those guys are really good players,” May said Monday. “Our rotation has been nine and nine, I think, is too deep. It’s playing too many guys, if you want to optimize everyone. But we felt like we had nine guys that deserved to play, that gave us a different element.

“We look at this as another challenge, but it’s also an opportunity for guys to play a little bit more, to play longer periods, to play through a mistake, to play a little bit different role. We do feel like these guys are a lot better than they were earlier this year, so we’re prepared to handle whatever comes at us.”

May said he doesn’t know exactly when Cason tore his ACL, and neither does Cason. The sophomore guard fell to the court and got up favoring his right leg on two separate occasions against Illinois.

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The first instance came in the final minute of the first half, when Cason tipped a long rebound ahead and chased it down to start a fast break. After he grabbed the ball in the air and bounced it backward between his legs to a trailing teammate, Cason went down. He got up hobbling, was subbed out and went back to the locker room.

Cason briefly checked back in during the second half and scored a driving layup a minute into his shift. But on Michigan’s next possession, he fell down after trying to score through contact and got up limping again. Shortly after that, Cason motioned to the Michigan bench to be taken out of the game and he exited for good.

“At halftime, the training staff came and said basically he’s passed all of his jump test. He just did the bike. He says he’s 100% ready to go. I was surprised, because I was expecting him to be out,” May said. “I said, ‘What about the test?’ They said both of his knees are loose, so it’s hard. We don’t feel that anything is torn.

“He comes back in. He lands funny again. … It’s unfortunate for him because he was playing so well. When an ACL pops on a noncontact injury, you’re like, ‘Man, what could we have done different?’ When it happens on a funny, quirky play, usually those are the ones that aren’t preventable.”

May added it hasn’t been determined yet when Cason will undergo surgery. Given the typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL ranges anywhere from nine to 12 months, May said Cason redshirting next season is a possibility that’s “on the table.”

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“That’s certainly been discussed as well, and then that impacts the recruiting decision-making,” May said. “But right now, we’re still trying to figure out when he’s going to have it. What’s the timeline? Does it make sense to go ahead and sit out next year? … We haven’t made any definitive decisions, because all the information is so inconclusive.”

Moving forward, the plan isn’t to have just one guy replace Cason, who averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 assists in 18.6 minutes per game, shot 40.2% from 3-point range and served as a facilitator when starting point guard Elliot Cadeau wasn’t on the court. It’ll be a by-committee approach.

That said, Cason’s absence is certainly going to put much more on Cadeau’s shoulders. The Wolverines can ill afford to have Cadeau commit unnecessary fouls and miss long stretches at a time. Without Cason, Cadeau is the one guard who can break down opposing defenses off the dribble and create for others.

“This will force Elliot to be much more solid with his defensive decision-making when it comes to fouling,” May said. “He doesn’t have that insurance policy anymore named L.J. behind him, because L.J. came in and carried the load several games for our group. That’s not there anymore.”

While Burnett, Gayle and McKenney haven’t had to be facilitators in their roles this season, May expressed confidence all three can take on minutes with the ball in their hands and initiate the offense.

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Even beyond the guards, May noted the team has “other capable weapons” who can serve as triggers on offense depending on the matchup, like forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. and big man Aday Mara.

Add it all together, May feels the Wolverines can find a way to absorb the blow, fill the void and forge ahead with Cason sidelined.

“We have enough to overcome what L.J. brought to the team,” May said. “I don’t know if he’s the best backup point guard in the country, but I can’t think of one that’s better. We’re losing a lot, but once again, we’re not going to sit here and look at it from that angle.

“This is an opportunity for all these other guys to do a little bit more, and they’re more than capable. It’s on us to find the right rotations and situations. Without a doubt, we have a lot of confidence in our roster.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

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Minnesota

Iran conflict: 250 Minnesota National Guard member serving in Middle East

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Iran conflict: 250 Minnesota National Guard member serving in Middle East


The Minnesota National Guard tells FOX 9 there are currently 250 guard members on regularly scheduled deployment at the United States Central Command areas of responsibility as the United States leads strikes in Iran.

Guardsman in Middle East

What we know:

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The Minnesota National Guard says the deployed airmen and soldiers are serving from Duluth’s 148th Fighter Wing, the Marshall-based 1-151 Artillery, and the Stillwater-based 34th Military Police Company.

What they’re saying:

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“While their missions and duty locations vary, all are grateful for the strong support of those back home,” writes Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, State Public Affairs Officer for the Minnesota National Guard.

What we don’t know:

The guard did not disclose the exact bases or countries where the soldiers and airmen are serving.

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CENTCOM covers 21 countries including: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Pres. Trump says Iran operations likely to last 4 to 5 weeks

Big picture view:

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In his first public remarks since the launch of the attack on Iran, President Trump said he expected operations to last four to five weeks, but he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”

The president also laid out his objective for the mission: to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, to “annihilate” their navy, to ensure the country doesn’t obtain a nuclear weapon and that the regime “cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”

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