Man pleads guilty to four charges in 2024 shooting at North Kansas City High
One of the men charged in a shooting that injured two people and sent attendees at a North Kansas City High School basketball game scrambling for safety last year has pleaded guilty to four felony charges.
Lavon’Dre Smallwood, 19, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon in Clay County Circuit Court, according to court records.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23.
Lavon’Dre Smallwood’s brother, Michael Smallwood, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in June after he pleaded guilty to three felonies and a misdemeanor related to the shooting.
The March 2, 2024, shooting on the North Kansas City High School campus happened as a debate event and a basketball game were taking place at the school. Investigators said the gunfire stemmed from a dispute that touched off after two groups of young men left the basketball game between North Kansas City and Staley high schools.
Authorities have said the two groups fired shots at each other outside on the school campus, and police later found 54 shell casings at the scene.
Two people were shot in the chaos: One was a student who was not associated with the two groups, and the other was a member of one of the groups who allegedly fired a gun during the shooting.
Previous reporting from The Star’s Robert Cronkleton is included in this story.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM.
