Man killed by Kansas City police had led a troubled life

Death repeatedly has darkened the house where Kansas City police killed a 37-year-old squatter Wednesday night in the 4400 block of Monroe Avenue.

Nine years ago, Tyrone L. Holman fatally shot his 28-year-old twin brother in the same home after a short argument.

Since then, Holman has battled mental health issues, unsuccessfully filed disability claims and threatened federal workers. Recently, someone saw him shout from the house, “I’m the devil.”

On Wednesday, he refused to leave when process servers arrived to enforce an eviction notice.

That prompted a 12-hour standoff with Kansas City police, who evacuated neighboring homes to protect residents from a possible bomb. Holman claimed he had wired the house with explosives, police said.

Throughout the standoff, Holman repeatedly threatened officers with a hand grenade and a gun, police said. He told police he’d shoot and blow them up.

After Holman came outside and threatened police with the hand grenade about 10:30 p.m., one officer fired and killed him, police said.

It turned out the hand grenade was not live, police said. And the home was not wired with explosives.

“For him to die at this house, it’s sad,” said Alisha Hall-Turner, who for the last several months has cared for an elderly resident on the block.

The house did not have running water, but the gas and the electricity were connected, said property agent Myeisha Greene.

Holman was subleasing from someone else without the permission of the property owner, who lives in Alaska. Greene said she was the fourth property agent to oversee the home and had spoken to Holman to try to convince him to leave. When that did not work, the property owner took legal action. Recently, an eviction notice was posted to the front door, instructing Holman he had 30 days to vacate the house.

Since there was no running water, the city had the house condemned. City staff posted signs on the door, but Holman snatched those off, Greene said.

Police officers helped evacuate neighbors late Wednesday morning, sometimes removing or flattening sections of fencing to hasten their escape.

Vincent Coleman said two officers carried his mother, who is 85 and suffers from cerebral palsy, out of her home and away through the backyard.

He brought his mother back to her home about 5:30 a.m. Thursday.

“She’s resting now,” Coleman said later Thursday. “But now we’re wondering who’s going to fix our fences.”

Holman pleaded guilty in 2004 to possessing marijuana.

In August 2006, Holman shot his twin in the head while the two fought inside the family residence on Monroe Avenue.

A family member told police that Tyrance Holman had been wielding a knife and acting like he was going to stab Tyrone Holman but instead struck him with his other hand.

The family member had been loading a revolver in another room. Tyrone Holman grabbed it, pushed his brother against the wall and said, “You don’t think I’ll do it,” then fired a shot.

Tyrone Holman stayed at the scene and told police that the gun accidentally discharged during a struggle.

Prosecutors later charged him with second-degree murder. He spent two years in the Jackson County jail before pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and being released.

Shortly after his release, Holman applied for but was denied Social Security disability benefits.

Holman claimed he was disabled because of a mental disorder, according to court records.

After his request was denied, Holman blamed a psychologist who had been assigned to examine him. The denial prompted a rash of threats, including death threats, to Social Security employees and doctors.

At one point, Holman punched a Social Security investigator. Another time, he pointed his hand at an investigator as if he were holding a gun and said, “Bam,” according to court documents.

Holman was charged in federal court as a result of those threats, in which he blamed people for the death of his brother and demanded money, according to federal court records.

After pleading guilty, he was ordered to a prison facility where he could receive mental health care, according to the records.

After his release, he was again arrested for violating terms of his parole, which is called supervised release in the federal system.

In February 2014, he was sentenced to an additional 10 months in prison for violating his release.

Federal prison records show he was released again in November.

“He was always saying that when he got out, he wanted to do right, to do better,” said Kory Jones, who met Holman in the Jackson County jail.

Jones, who has been helping repair a home on Monroe Avenue, said he spoke briefly with Holman about two weeks ago. Then late Wednesday morning, he noticed Holman yelling from the house.

“Then I saw the police with their guns out, and I decided it was time to leave,” he said.

The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Man killed by Kansas City police had led a troubled life."