Kansas

KC Unsolved: Mission to find answers decade after Kansas City homicide

Published

2 months ago

June 10, 2024

KC Unsolved: Mission to find answers decade after Kansas City homicide

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A metro woman made it her mission to bring justice to unsolved homicide cases across the Kansas City metro. She pulls inspiration from the homicide of her son, hoping that she will soon be able to experience what justice feels like in her own life.

Someone shot and killed 20-year-old Alonzo Thomas IV on April 5, 2014, near 71st and Wayne in Kansas City, Mo. The shooting, which quickly turned the neighborhood into a crime scene, happened shortly after 1 p.m. Thomas ran for help before collapsing in the doorway of a friend’s house.

Kansas City police continue to search for the person who shot and killed Alonzo Thomas IV in April 2014.(KCTV5)

At 20-years-old, Thomas was a man in the eyes of the law. His mother, Monique Willis, still only sees him as her child.

“He was my only. He was my little boy,” Willis said.

ALSO READ: 2 injured, 1 killed in early-morning shooting on downtown Kansas City sidewalk

Willis has memories of the first two decades of Thomas’ life. Memories she holds tight.

“Trying to teach him and help him and push him to greatness. He pushed pushed back every step of the way. (Laughs)”

But, instead of social media feeds and photo albums filled with pictures and other memories, Willis relies on detectives with a different type of file that contains information about the past decade of life. A decade without Thomas.

Instead of a photo album, Kansas City Police detectives have a binder of evidence. It includes phone records and information about other clues in the homicide case that may eventually be pieced together to form answers to the questions Willis has about the shooting that took her son.

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“It’s a long time. It’s a long time to not know and to (sighs) sit and breathe,” Willis said.

Key Questions

Detectives are focused on two main points in the search for Thomas’ killer.

The first are phone records.

The binder of evidence police have is filled with all kinds of phone record. The reason detectives believe the records may hold a critical key to the investigation is because Thomas received a phone call right before his death. The phone call was so important he went to 71st and Wayne where he was shot and killed minutes later.

The other piece of information police can’t locate is a white van.

“Which was described as a white van with some rust and a sliding door, so presumably a white minivan,” Sgt. Tim Fitzgerald, Kansas City Police Department Homicide Unit, said.

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Police believe Thomas may have walked over to the van to sell weed to the men inside. Then witnesses told detectives they heard a gunshot and Thomas running for help.

The problem is witnesses describe a white minivan, but no one got a license plate. The area also did not have the type of technology in place that police use now to solve cases like this one.

“Typically, in an investigation nowadays, there are street cameras everywhere. Almost everyone has a Ring Doorbell,” Fitzgerald said.

Key Clues

Instead of relying on countless angles of a homicide scene from home security cameras, detectives used what they did have at the time. They pulled dash camera video from every patrol car that answered the 911 call for help at 71st and Wayne.

They hoped the effort would pay off and show a white van driving away from the area as police responded.

No luck.

So, officers turned to Thomas’ phone records.

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Detectives said they spoke to a number of possible suspects. Every single one of those people denied being in the area of the shooting at the time Thomas died.

“So, when someone denies being there, unless we have somebody that physically saw them there and identified them, then we don’t have a lot of rebuttal to that,” Fitzgerald said.

Key Reward

Now that the case is at a standstill, police have hope money will help someone talk.

There is a reward of up to $27,000 offered in the case. Police are looking for someone the shooter confessed to, a neighbor with more information about the description of the van, someone who is brave enough to come forward and help solve this case.

“We just need that information to come in so that we can get our detectives out there to follow up on that information.”

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Following Thompson’s homicide, his mother founded the group “Momma on a Mission” following her son’s murder. The group works to help other families who end up facing the same future.

Every one of them will benefit from witnesses making the decision to pick up a phone, or send an email, to KC Crimestoppers at tips@kc-crime.org or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

There are rewards offered in all unsolved homicides in the Kansas City area.

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Kansas

Man is charged with murder in Klamm Park shooting case in Kansas City, Kansas

Published

19 mins ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

Man is charged with murder in Klamm Park shooting case in Kansas City, Kansas

A Kansas City man has been charged with the murder of a teen following a shooting in Klamm Park last weekend.

LaRon Jaka Belcher III, 21, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Branden Jamal Baskin, 18. Baskin lived in Kansas City, Kansas, according to the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office.

Wyandotte County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Klamm Park at 2515 N 27th St in Kansas City, Kansas, around 6:30 p.m. on July 21, The Star previously reported. Deputies found Baskin dead at the park, which is located behind KCK Fire Department Station 14.

Two other suspects, an adult and a juvenile, were arrested after the shooting, The Star reported. Belcher alone was charged with murder.

Court documents indicate that the shooting took place while Belcher was trying to sell or distribute some form of controlled substance.

Belcher was booked into the Wyandotte County Jail earlier this week, according to jail records. A Wyandotte County set his bond at $200,000 at a hearing Friday morning.

Belcher is set to next appear in court on August 6.

Baskin’s death was the 16th homicide reported in Kansas City, Kansas, in 2024, according to data collected by The Star. At the same time last year, 14 homicides had been reported in the city.

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Kansas

Watch: Las Vegas Raiders Troll Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs Star Responds

Published

7 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

Watch: Las Vegas Raiders Troll Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs Star Responds

CINCINNATI — First, Ja’Marr Chase refused to say his name. Now, he’s getting trolled by the Raiders.

Las Vegas trolled Patrick Mahomes with a Kermit doll. Mahomes responded on Friday.

“Stuff like that happens,” Mahomes said. “It’ll get handled when it gets handled.”

Mahomes is 10-2 in his career against the Raiders. Trash talking him is a bold choice.

The Bengals play the Chiefs in Week 2. It’s reasonable to call it the best rivalry in the NFL. It would be shocking to see Cincinnati troll Kansas City that way and they’ve had head-to-head success against them.

A bold choice by Las Vegas. Check out the troll video and Mahomes’ response below:

Patrick Mahomes responds:
“It’ll get handled when it gets handled.” 👀pic.twitter.com/OpyfiZqjEn https://t.co/6slSBkdu5O
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) July 26, 2024

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Kansas

TIME names Kansas City's CPKC Stadium and Rabbit Hole among the 'world's greatest places'

Published

15 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

TIME names Kansas City's CPKC Stadium and Rabbit Hole among the 'world's greatest places'

Two recently opened Kansas City attractions were announced today among 100 extraordinary destinations to visit; named to TIME’s list of the World’s Greatest Places.

TIME’s annual feature includes CPKC Stadium, home to the KC Current and the first stadium in the world purpose-built for a women’s professional team, and The Rabbit hOle, a North Kansas City children’s literary museum that debuted this spring after years of anticipation.

To compile the list, TIME solicited nominations of places — including hotels, cruises, restaurants, attractions, museums, parks, and more — from its international network of correspondents and contributors, as well as via an application process, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences.

The Kansas City selections reflected those timely elements, editors said.

“Like Alice in Wonderland, visitors go down the rabbit hole (quite literally into a “hole” of winding tunnels and caves), tumbling into classic and contemporary storybooks and meeting life-size characters,” TIME wrote in its description of the newly opened Rabbit hOle.

Spanning three floors, visitors can catch a ride with Nana and CJ on the bus to “The Last Stop on Market Street”; whisper “Goodnight Moon” in the quiet dark of the great green room; outshine Mr. Sun with “Sam and the Tigers”; feed jum-jills to “The Funny Thing”; or find themselves scaling the cliffs of “My Father’s Dragon” when visiting the magical museum.

“The Rabbit hOle is a living thing, and it becomes something new for every visitor who enters it,” said Deb Pettid, co-director at The Rabbit hOle. “It’s impossible to define, but that’s what makes it a true place of discovery. And where else can you read a book inside a book?”

Julie Denesha

KCUR 89.3

A life-sized replica of a scene from the book “Goodnight Moon” at the Rabbit hOle in Kansas City.

“Since opening this March, we’ve had more than 60,000 visitors from nearly every state and all over the world,” added Pete Cowdin, co-director. “The Rabbit hOle is unlike anything, anywhere.”

The Rabbit hOle also features a bookstore, print shop and story lab, makerspace, resource library, gallery for original book art and a cafe, making it an ideal space for innovative programming and private events.

CPKC Stadium also deserves its spot on the list, said Raven Jemison, president of the KC Current.

“Ownership’s vision has changed women’s professional sports for generations to come,” Jemison said. “CPKC Stadium is proof that an investment in women is a smart one as we continue to sell out KC Current matches. Fans from all over the globe have made the trip to Kansas City to witness history. Now the world knows what the excitement is about; we’re just getting started.”

CPKC Stadium has been on a worldwide stage since formally opening in March.

On July 3, CPKC Stadium was announced as the venue for the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League Championship, which is set for Nov. 23. The stadium is also the host venue for the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup semifinals Aug. 6 and was selected as the site for the 2024 Big 12 Soccer Championship.

The stadium has also hosted a variety of national conferences, like the United States Conference of Mayors, as well as private and local events like the city’s AANHPI Heritage Festival.

This story was originally published on Startland News, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.

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