Man charged in shooting death of 19-year-old woman on Main Street in Kansas town
An 18-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting death earlier this month of a 19-year-old woman in Independence, Kansas.
Benjamin J. Mason was arrested the day after the shooting at his home in Coffeyville, about 20 miles south of the shooting scene in Montgomery County.
He is accused in the Dec. 14 killing of Kimberley D. Meeks, also of Coffeyville, who was shot while walking along Main Street in Independence, a town with a population of about 9,483 about 175 miles southwest of Kansas City.
The shooting was reported about 6:00 p.m. when Meeks and a man were walking near the intersection of Laurel and Main streets at the west end of the city. Someone shot at them from a car and fled, according to law enforcement officials.
The man who was with Meeks ran. A resident called 911 to report the gunshots. Meeks was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation was called in to help investigate alongside the Independence Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Mason was arrested Dec. 15 and booked into the Montgomery County jail, where was being held without bond Monday.
Montgomery County prosecutors have charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, along with charges of attempting to distribute or possess drugs or drug paraphernalia.
Anyone with information was asked to call the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME or the Independence Police Department at 620-332-1700. Callers can remain anonymous.
