Teen charged in triple shooting that unfolded in broad daylight in Northeast KC
An 18-year-old man was charged Thursday in a July shooting that left one man dead and two others injured in Northeast Kansas City.
Wade Bentley faces several charges, including second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon, in the killing of 36-year-old Leon Robinson Jr., according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
The shooting stemmed from a dispute over marijuana, prosecutors said.
Officers responded to the shooting about 12:30 p.m. July 20 in the 3700 block of Independence Avenue, where they found a gunshot victim who said others had been shot at Askew Avenue and Roberts Street.
Robinson was shot in the back of the head, according to charging documents. The other two victims were taken to hospitals and survived.
Police received an anonymous tip that indicated the person responsible for the shooting went by the name “Little Chop,” court records showed. One tenant nearby said he saw the suspect, who he knew as “Chop,” armed with a gun before the shooting.
Witnesses described Bentley as angry that day, according to prosecutors. Robinson told Bentley to calm down before the shooting, one witness told police.
Two people positively identified Bentley as the shooter in a photo lineup, according to charging documents.
Prosecutors requested Bentley’s bond be set at $500,000 cash.
He did not yet have an attorney listed in public records who could be reached for comment.
In a previous interview, a woman who lives in the area said she watched as an altercation broke out among a group of people before a man started shooting. The woman asked not to be named because she feared for her safety.
The man first shot a woman who was visibly frightened, the woman said. The gunman then shot a man twice, she said.
Next, the neighbor said, the man began shooting at another man who was able to run away and get to the Family Dollar across the street on Independence Avenue. Finally she said, the gunman shot the man on the ground two more times.
“It’s really sad my kids have to come out on the porch and see that,” the woman told The Star. “It’s worse because it’s broad daylight.”
On Wednesday, Bentley was arrested in possession of a handgun and a white substance that police said was later determined to be cocaine, according to court records. The handgun recovered was not the homicide weapon, police said.
A detective described Bentley as a danger to the community and a potential flight risk. She noted that the gunfire erupted in a residential neighborhood in the middle of the day.
The detective also said a review of criminal databases showed Bentley has been identified as a person of interest in other shootings and assaults in the Kansas City area. Two of the shooting have occurred since March, she said.
