A second man has been charged in connection to a shooting in Westport in late February that killed one person and wounded four.
On Thursday, Jackson County prosecutors charged Ernest P. Jones, Jr., 23, of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action for his involvement in the Feb. 29 shooting.
The incident occurred at about 1:30 a.m., when an off-duty Kansas City Police officer saw a white SUV traveling along Mill Street near Westport Road shooting. Devon Carter, 25, was arrested and told police he was driving the vehicle. Carter was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.
Police later identified the victim who was killed as 17-year-old Devin Harris.
A police statement about the shooting said the off-duty officer discharged his weapon "at the people who were involved and actively shooting." Those shots, according to police, did not strike any of the victims.
Another responding officer located the bullet-riddled SUV nearby at 39th and Main and Carter was taken into custody.
According to prosecutors, a witness told police she was in another vehicle, when a “drunk woman” crossed the street near the Offkey/Throwback lounge. The witness said Jones was involved in an argument with several people on the street outside the lounge. Another witness told police she could later see someone firing shots from a vehicle driven by Jones.
Prosecutors also said that video surveillance showed individuals shooting from the white SUV as it pulled out of a parking garage nearby. A white Acura and dark-colored Lexus followed the SUV. All the vehicles appeared to be a part of the same group.
Police arrested Jones in Kansas City, Kansas, Tuesday as he walked out of a house towards a white Acura that had the same license plate of one of the cars seen at the Westport shooting.
Detectives found several .9mm handguns as well as a .45-caliber handgun inside the house. Investigators previously collected multiple .9mm and .45-caliber shell casings from the Westport crime scene.
Jodi Fortino is a news intern at KCUR.
