DNA from facial tissue, Q-tip fingerprints lead to murder charge in Kansas City, prosecutors say
A 41-year-old man police earlier identified as a person of interest has been charged with murder in a recent Kansas City case after DNA evidence and fingerprints linked him to a fatal shooting outside a gas station, prosecutors said.
Timothy R. Fernandez is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of 40-year-old Michael E. Bryan, but he is not yet in custody, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.
The killing happened outside a Windstar gas station at 17th Street and Grand Boulevard in the Crossroads district during the early morning on Feb. 5.
According to court records, Kansas City police obtained surveillance video from the gas station, which showed the victim and suspect talking prior to the shooting.
After a few minutes, the video showed the victim turning around and walking toward the front of the gas station when the suspect pulled a gun from his coat pocket and shot the victim in the back, court records said.
The suspect then walked away.
Court records said the suspect was also seen in the video throwing a used tissue in the parking lot about 20 minutes before the shooting.
Detectives returned to the scene on Feb. 6 and collected a tissue found in the gas station parking lot. The tissue was tested for DNA. On Feb. 7, police found that the DNA profile matched Fernandez, court records said.
Police later recovered Fernandez’s fingerprints from a Q-tip box found inside a backpack that was left in an alley behind 1520 Grand Blvd, according to documents.
In addition, police found in the backpack a box of ammunition which was determined to be the same caliber class as a bullet recovered from the victim.
While Fernandez was not in police custody Friday, a warrant has been issued for his arrest and his bond has been set at $250,000 cash.
Anyone with information regarding Fernandez or the shooting is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
This story was originally published February 15, 2019 at 4:53 PM.
