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Kansas City man accused of killing neighbor after 10 years of arguments

3500 garfield homicide aug 7.JPEG
Posted at 6:45 PM, Aug 08, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-08 19:45:23-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man who argued for 10 years with his neighbor is accused of shooting and killing him Sunday after a final argument over lawn mowing.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Samuel Avery, 42, of KCMO, Monday with second degree murder and armed criminal action.

Avery called police after the shooting and told them his neighbor, Warner Trotter, 41, pulled a gun on him, according to a court document.

He told police he "emptied his clip" into Trotter, the document states.

Police arrived and arrested Avery without incident.

They found Trotter on his front porch with a gunshot wound to the head.

He died at a hospital.

A witness told police Avery and Trotter got into an argument Sunday morning over Avery's lawn mowing, according to the court document.

Trotter and the witness left his house to get food and returned a short time later.

The witness told police she heard Trotter says something to Avery and then heard gunfire.

Avery told police Trotter pulled a gun on him.

The first officers on the scene who performed first aid on Trotter said they removed a handgun from Trotter's waistband.

An examination of the gun revealed it had not been fired.

Avery told police they would find his handgun in his house and that's where police found the weapon.

He also told police Trotter had video cameras on his house and the incident was probably captured on video.

Police reviewed the video and found it showed Trotter and the witness return to the house with food.

Avery's house is about 10 yards from the Trotter house, according to the court document.

The video shows Trotter say something to Avery and begins to walk into the house.

That's when Avery began shooting at Trotter.

A judge set Avery's bond at $100,000.