Kansas City man faces murder charges for alleged role in deadly April shooting
A Kansas City man has been charged for his alleged involvement in an April shooting that killed a 45-year-old man.
Martez Jacoway Jr., who was born in 2005, faces charges of second degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon, according to a press release from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Officers responded to a report of gunfire at 5:30 p.m. on April 17 at 54th Street and Euclid Avenue. As officers approached, they received word that the incident had been upgraded to a shooting and had moved a block over to 55th Street and Euclid.
Court records show they found the victim, Ian Walker, 45, in the front passenger seat of a white Ford Focus with a gunshot wound in the back. He was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after.
Witnesses told detectives they saw a man with a black hoodie at the driver’s side window with a rifle who then allegedly fired several rounds toward the vehicle, according to the press release. Video surveillance caught muzzle flashes from the front driver’s side of a nearby black Nissan directed at Walker’s car.
Detectives used a license plate recognition system to track the vehicle’s movement, which lead them to identifying Jacoway, according to the release. Jacoway’s phone records allegedly show both incoming and outgoing calls from the areas that match the black Nissan’s path on the day of the homicide. They corroborated that with surveillance footage, city camera footage and the license plate reader.
Walker’s death marked the 43rd homicide reported in Kansas City in 2025, according to data collected by The Star. At that time last year, 44 homicides had been reported in the city.
Jacoway had previously been identified by SAVE KC, a community initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through focused deterrence, but did not attend a call-in, according to the release. He is being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond.
