Man charged in two homicides, in Kansas City and Independence

A Kansas City man is facing charges in connection with two recent homicides in Kansas City and Independence, according to Jackson County prosecutors.

Jerome T. Roberson, 31, has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Nov. 2 killing of Michael W. Cantwell, who was found shot in the 2500 block of Quincy Avenue.

Roberson faces the same charges in the Oct. 28 fatal shooting of Brandan Ray Brown in Independence. Police arrested Roberson Saturday. He had been sought by police as a person of interest in the Brown homicide since last month.

According to court records, Kansas City police responding to a reported shooting on Nov. 2 found Cantwell sitting in the driver’s seat of a Ford Explorer with a gunshot wound to the head. Witnesses told police that they saw Roberson either shoot into the victim’s vehicle or heard gunfire and found the victim shot there.

In the Independence killing, police were dispatched to the 12800 block of East 47th Street on a reported assault and found Brown shot in the face.

A witness told police that Roberson ran up and shot the victim before fleeing in a red vehicle, according to prosecutors. Another witness described seeing the defendant shoot the victim.

Roberson was in custody Monday at the Jackson County jail on a $500,000 bond.

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Man charged in two homicides, in Kansas City and Independence."