Raytown teen to be tried as adult in 2025 shooting, attempted motor vehicle theft

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Raytown teenager will be tried as an adult in the case of a shooting and attempted motor vehicle theft in 2025.

Nathaniel L. Pearson, born in 2007, is charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and attempted stealing a motor vehicle.

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said he could face up to 30 years or life in prison.

Raytown police were called around 3:45 a.m. on May 10, 2025, to a residence on a reported shooting.

Upon arrival, police located the victim screaming and bleeding heavily from his face, per a court document. His injuries were described as “catastrophic,” and he suffered the loss of both eyes.

The second victim told officers the pair woke up to the car alarm sounding on her 2021 Dodge Charger, which was parked between her Jeep Wrangler and the shooting victim’s Chevrolet Impala.

Their home surveillance cameras captured Pearson opening the hood of the Charger to remove the fuse and fuse box cover. Pearson closed the hood before walking over to the driver’s side door.

At that time, the shooting victim went outside to confront Pearson, who ran westward from the car with a second male. The two then fired multiple rounds of gunshots at the man, striking him in the thigh, per a court document.

While crawling behind the Impala for cover, the victim was unaware a third male was hiding behind a tree in the front yard of a nearby residence. Gunshots from that suspect struck the victim in the face.

All three continued to fire at the victim as they made their way to a pickup truck, fleeing the scene northbound.

Officers recovered several extended cartridge casings from the area.

Pearson was connected to the crime through surveillance footage and DNA samples collected from the Charger. His DNA hit on the fuse box cover and side window.

Detectives learned in August 2025 that Pearson was incarcerated in Clay County on an unrelated tampering with a motor vehicle charge. Additional record checks revealed a prior Jackson County arrest for tampering with a motor vehicle, per a court document.

When detectives met with Pearson, they said his build matched what was observed on surveillance footage. Pearson invoked his right to remain silent and did not provide a statement, a court document stated.

Most recently, on July 20, a judge ruled Pearson is fit to stand trial as an adult in the incident.

His bond is set at $100,000, cash only, per the prosecutor’s office.

Pearson was still in custody at the Clay County Detention Center as of a check Wednesday morning of the jail's current inmates.

Investigation into the others who were with Pearson continues.

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