Botched drug deal led to fatal double shooting in Kansas City, Kansas, police say
Two people will likely face charges in a shooting last weekend that killed two young men in Kansas City, Kansas, after an attempted drug sale, according to KCK police chief Karl Oakman.
Officers responded to the 800 block of N 70th Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Saturday and found Javon Brown, 19, and Delorean Jackson, 20, outside a home with gunshot wounds. Both were declared dead that night.
During a Monday news briefing, Oakman alleged that Brown, Jackson and a third person had gone to purchase narcotics with the intent to rob the seller. The attempted robbery escalated into a shootout between the would-be buyers and the would-be dealer, Oakman said, in which Brown and Jackson were fatally shot.
“The situation on Saturday, it was not a random act of violence,” Oakman said Monday. “We believe this was planned and it was carried out.”
Oakman said the attempted sale involved multiple controlled substances, including marijuana, which has not been legalized in Kansas.
Both the alleged dealer and the alleged third buyer were injured in the shooting, Oakman said, and were taken into police custody after they were transported to a nearby hospital. KCKPD is working with the office of the Wyandotte County district attorney to press charges against both suspects, Oakman said.
The department is pursuing criminal charges to warn other residents against combining firearm use with other illegal activities, Oakman said.
“Two criminals decide they want to commit a criminal act and get mad and start shooting at each other, and they say it’s self defense,” Oakman said. “Well, you’re engaged in criminal activity.”
Some residents reported seeing police activity at a nearby playground and apartment complex around the time of the shooting. Oakman said the two events were not related.
Oakman was the only speaker at Monday’s news conference. No one representing either the men killed or the people who may face charges was present.
Addressing drug-related crime
Brown and Jackson’s deaths were the fifth and sixth homicides reported in Kansas City, Kansas, this year, according to data collected by The Star. At this time last year, five homicides were reported in the city. Oakman said this leaves Kansas City, Kansas, on pace to tie its recent record for the lowest homicide rate in five years.
Homicide rates in the city have fallen by 62% since 2020, Oakman said Monday. Oakman said that police have also noted a dip in non-fatal shootings and domestic violence rates.
However, drug-related activity — particularly the sale of cocaine, methamphetamines and fentanyl — remain a driving force behind violent crime rates in Kansas City, Kansas, Oakman said.
As gang-related activity in the city has reduced, Oakman said, concerns around fentanyl use and sales in particular have risen. Officers are hoping to build deeper connections with community members, he said, with the hopes that they are willing to proactively report drug-related activity to KCKPD.
“What we have found the last couple years is that the same individuals that were involved in a lot of the violent gang activity are some of the same individuals that are involved in the fentanyl,” Oakman said.
Oakman estimated that the department is currently working with the Wyandotte County district attorney to process 19 charges related to illegal drug activity. In one raid carried out last week at a residential address, Oakman said, KCK police officers seized nearly 1,500 grams of marijuana and cocaine, along with 48 ecstasy and methamphetamine pills, 15 assault rifles and about $5,230 in cash.
Drug-related offenses in the city often involve firearms, which makes altercations among sellers and users more likely to turn fatal, Oakman said. Most weapons that KCKPD officers have confiscated during drug-related arrests were stolen or otherwise illegally obtained, Oakman said.
“Everyone is carrying guns,” Oakman said. “Everyone has weapons.”
The department’s current policy is to send officers to investigate every reported overdose in Kansas City, Kansas, Oakman said. As part of KCKPD’s response to drug-related crime, Oakman said, the department has both federally-supported operations and undercover operations active in several neighborhoods — including where Saturday’s double homicide took place.
However, the advent of social media use in drug sales has made police response efforts more difficult, Oakman said.
“The old days of the individual standing on the corner selling drugs are over,” Oakman said. “Through all types of social media, cell phones, it’s very technical now.”
The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, along with other emergency responders and elected officials, will host a further discussion on the state of crime in the city at an annual Peace Walk event, scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday.
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 6:27 PM.
