KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 26-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, man has been charged with second-degree homicide in the shooting death of his cousin, Antwon Jones, last week.
Jones was shot to death around 9:45 a.m. on Friday at an apartment in the 2700 block of Benton Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri.
Michael Young, 26, was charged Monday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in Jones’ death, according to court records.
Young faces life in prison, if convicted.
KCPD officers responding to the shooting found three shell casings near Jones’ body and his girlfriend, who was at the house along with Young’s mother during the shooting, and saw Young flee the apartment after hearing three gunshots.
The girlfriend told police investigators that she heard Young and Jones argue briefly before the shooting, according to a KCPD probable cause statement.
The cousins got into a fight about 10 days before the shooting, according to Jones’ girlfriend.
Young was arrested shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Friday after officers responded to a suspicious party call near the apartment where Jones was killed.
During an interview, Young allegedly told KCPD detectives that he asked Jones to leave his mother’s apartment, but he refused.
Young said he thought he saw a clip to a gun in the pocket of Jones’ hoodie and that the victim reached into the pocket.
At that point, Young pulled his own gun, pointed it Jones and eventually shot him. He told detectives he never actually saw Jones with a gun, but he knew he often carried one.
No gun was found on or near Jones' body during the police investigation.
Jones said he tossed the alleged murder weapon into a wooded area, but he wasn’t sure where.
There have 127 homicides in KCMO in 2022 as of Monday morning, according to KCPD's Daily Homicide Analysis. That is 10 more than the same time last year, which was the second-bloodiest in the city's history with 157 homicides.
It is still far fewer than 2020 when 149 committed through the morning of Oct. 3 en route to a record 179 homicides that year.
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For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
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.
