KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An argument over a gun turned deadly when the suspect became angry with the way the victim was talking to another person, got a handgun and allegedly fatally shot the victim.
La'Dre J. Smallwood, 19, is charged in Jackson County Court with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Wayne Gordon, 57, on June 24, 2024.
Police found Gordon suffering from gunshot wounds on the landing of a Kansas City, Missouri, apartment building near West 38th Street and Belleview Avenue, according to a court document.
Emergency medical personnel declared Gordon dead at the shooting scene.
About six months later, a person told police she wanted to "provide a full, truthful" statement of what she witnessed, per the court document.
She said Gordon believed a woman he went out with the night before stole his handgun.
Gordon said in a phone call he was going to the woman's apartment to get his gun back.
Smallwood got mad at the way Gordon talked to the woman and grabbed a brown handgun from his friend. He then made a threat he was going to shoot Gordon.
Gordon got out of his car, went into the apartment building and was fatally shot.
Smallwood is in the Jackson County jail. His bond is set at $300,000, cash only.
He is scheduled to be back in court Thursday for a bond review hearing.
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