Man charged with murder after shooting of KC construction worker during fight

A man has been charged with four felonies, including second-degree murder, for a fatal Kansas City shooting in May that killed a construction worker after a fight.

Zechariah Hoskins-Ellis, 26, faces one count of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon in the death of Zachery Matthews on May 16.

Hoskins-Ellis is currently in custody on a $500,000 bond.

On the day of the shooting, Kansas City police officers were dispatched to the area of East 73rd Street and South Benton Avenue around 4:14 p.m. on a report of a shooting, according to court records.

Officers found the victim, later identified as Matthews, 25, lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. Matthews was transported to the hospital and later died from his injuries on May 19.

The homicide was the 63rd homicide in Kansas City this year, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes officer-involved shootings.

Matthews’s girlfriend told investigators that Matthews was doing construction work on a house at the location of the shooting, court records say. The couple had been at the location for approximately two hours before Hoskins-Ellis arrived in a truck and an attached trailer containing multiple ATVs.

Matthews walked out of the home to talk to the suspect but returned to the house, saying Hoskins-Ellis said something rude to him. The couple left the home but returned to retrieve tools.

Matthews and Hoskins-Ellis continued arguing and cursing each other, then Hoskins-Ellis allegedly grabbed a black Glock handgun with a tan handle and shot Matthews, records say.

The victim’s girlfriend told investigators she wasn’t surprised by the shooting, because she alleges Hoskins-Ellis has a short fuse. A friend of Hoskins-Ellis showed up and was looking for something, what authorities presume is a shell casing, under Matthews’s vehicle, records say.

Investigators also interviewed a neighbor who was inside his home when he heard a few “bangs” and then heard a woman scream. Detectives also have as evidence a doorbell camera video showing a truck with a trailer attached, containing ATVs, at the scene.

Hoskins-Ellis was taken into custody on Friday. The vehicle that he arrived in contained two pounds of marijuana, a baggie of white powdered substance that tested positive for cocaine, a baggie of unknown pills, and THC lollipops and chocolates.

Hoskins-Ellis, a Sedalia native, is currently on probation after he entered a guilty plea for unlawful possession of a firearm last May in a Pettis County circuit court, court records show. Three counts were dismissed and Hoskins-Ellis was sentenced to seven years in prison but the sentence was suspended and he was given five years of probation.