KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. She also focuses on issues regarding scams. Share your story idea with Megan.
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A tire slasher hit cars in 35 driveways in Waldo on a recent Saturday morning, and the homeowners who woke up to flat tires say they know exactly who is responsible.
Ed Lavallee and his neighbors discovered slashed tires after his Ring camera went off at 3:42 a.m. Saturday.
"It's a scary video to watch," Lavallee said.
The video shows someone with a large knife slashing tires. Lavallee said he ran outside after his wife spotted someone in the driveway.
"My wife screams there's someone in the driveway! So I jumped up grabbed a baseball bat, in my underwear ran out into the driveway," Lavallee said.
By the time he got outside, the suspect was gone.
"All I heard was shhhhhh, just air coming out. We checked the damage, two tires on each car," Lavallee said.
The damage extended beyond his home.
"Two tires on the driver's side, they skipped that house, neighbor across the street they got the two back tires," Lavallee described his block of which homes got hit.
"They were devastated; A girl came out crying when she saw," Lavallee said.
Lavallee said he repeatedly watched the video.
"The more I looked at it, the more scary it was to me, she could have been at the front door," Lavallee said.
Lavallee showed me receipts for new tires and tow trucks totaling $1,500.
Neighbor Gary Hightower, who has lived in Waldo for 42 years, said he immediately recognized the woman in the video.
"First thing that hit me is that it's the same gal from two years ago," Hightower said.
He was right.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department arrested Whitney Jones shortly after I spoke with Hightower. Jones had previously been convicted of the same crime in the same neighborhood.
According to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, Jones was found incompetent to stand trial in 2024 and was committed to the Department of Mental Health. She was restored to competency in 2025, and the prosecutor agreed to a conditional release requiring her to go to a treatment facility and participate in mental health court. Prosecutors said she stopped showing up, and an arrest warrant was issued last month.
Hightower said he is worried about what comes next.
"It sounds like she's got mental problems and she's going to be back out, so they got to do something," Hightower said.
"I don't want her back on the road in 90 days," Hightower said.
Hannah Foster, and her husband Dakota, also had tires slashed on the car that has their child's car seat in it. They had to get it fixed immediately.
"They said, 'She got you, and we're like what?' And our two back tires were slashed," Hannah Foster said.
The repair cost the family $550.
"She definitely needs to be locked away; I don't think she's had any remorse for what she's doing," Foster said.
In the meantime, Lavallee and some of his neighbors have been parking their cars in a neighbor's more protected back lot.
"It's like she's going to do it again, it's just a matter of time," Lavallee said.
The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office has not yet filed charges in this case, but understands the frustration.
Ms. Jones was found incompetent to stand trial in 2024 and committed to the Department of Mental Health. She was restored competency in 2025 and our office agreed to a conditional release to a supervised mental health treatment facility and participation in mental health court. She was engaged in that program until she failed to appear earlier this year. A warrant has been active since that time.
Our office balances accountability and treatment, recognizing that when crimes are tied to serious mental illness, treatment is often the most effective path to protecting the community as a whole long-term. In cases when defendants do not complete treatment or don’t comply with their release conditions, we hold them accountable.
We have not yet received the casefile involving the tire slashing and cannot comment further on that case while the investigation is ongoing. We do understand the frustration of those who have been impacted and will work to hold the individual responsible accountable.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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