Two men accused of chasing, shooting at victim while riding ATV in Johnson County
Two men have been charged with attempted first-degree murder in Johnson County, accused of shooting at a victim while pursuing him on an all-terrain vehicle.
Robert Velock III, 38, of Lee’s Summit, and Nicholas McPherson, 38, of Kansas City, were arrested after police responded to a report of gunfire on Feb. 11 around 9:30 a.m., according to documents filed in Johnson County District Court.
While police were responding to the call, multiple other emergency calls came in describing two men riding an ATV while shooting a firearm.
Court documents did not disclose the exact location of the incident.
Mission police arrived to find the victim in a wooded area. The victim told police he was in his car when the suspects began to chase him. During the pursuit, the men allegedly began to fire multiple shots until the victim crashed into a retaining wall.
The victim told police he’d hid behind the wall, and officers discovered bullets had struck a neighboring home.
Officers used the tracks in the soil to determine which direction the men had fled and called in help from other units.
The ATV was then spotted at a second crash scene, where it had smashed through a fence and thrown one of the men off. Officers pursued him on foot for a short distance until he was apprehended. Court documents say a handgun, a red helmet and a bag of meth were seized upon his arrest.
According to the charges, Velock continued riding the ATV after McPherson was tossed off until the vehicle crashed again — this time in a yard. There, officers apprehended him, and allegedly recovered another handgun, a black helmet and more meth.
Velock and McPherson remain in Johnson County Jail on $200,000 bond each.
A preliminary hearing for Velock and McPherson is set for April 18.
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 5:16 PM.