Convicted felon charged in August fatal shooting at Midtown Pizza Hut

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Missouri, man previously convicted of first-degree attempted robbery, a felony, faces charges in a fatal shooting at the Midtown Pizza Hut.

Marquez Canton, 23, is charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm in the Aug. 7 homicide.

KCMO police were called around 11:45 p.m. on Aug. 7 to the restaurant near 39th and Main streets.

Multiple surveillance cameras in the area captured the victim entering the Pizza Hut, leaving and then returning.

As the victim turned around to leave a second time, Canton shot him twice from behind.

Witnesses said the victim, 40-year-old Angelo Jones, had asked to use the restroom at Pizza Hut, but an employee told him there was no public restroom.

Jones couldn’t hear the employee, so one of the witnesses with Canton tried to help. However, she said he became disrespectful when trying to communicate what the employee had said, according to a court document.

The Pizza Hut employee said Jones, Canton and the witnesses appeared to be laughing and joking until Jones became agitated and made a comment about one of the two witnesses with Canton, the court document stated.

Despite the employee's efforts to calm everyone down, Jones suggested they should go outside to fight. That’s when Canton shot Jones and fled the scene.

Detectives used information from the Uber Canton and his friends arrived in and phone records to identify him as a suspect.

During an interview with detectives at the Jackson County Detention Center, Canton admitted he was at the Pizza Hut with a close friend and his girlfriend. While he initially claimed he felt threatened and stated the victim clutched his waistband before suggesting fighting outside, he later stated he never saw the victim with a weapon, per a court document.

He also admitted to running from the scene and knowing he was not allowed to possess a firearm.

Canton is being held in the detention center on a $250,000, cash-only bond.

He’s due in court Wednesday for a bond review hearing.

—

If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.

Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.