Man faces murder charges in shootings at Kansas City gas station, apartment building
A Kansas City man has been charged in a pair of shootings that left two men dead Wednesday, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced.
Matthew D. Harris, 43, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action.
About 2:51 a.m. Wednesday Kansas City police responded to a shooting at a convenience store at 5401 East Winner Road.
Seven minutes later, officers were dispatched to a second shooting at the Green Leaf Apartments at 5306 Williamsburg Court.
As officers arrived at the apartment complex, they saw a man exiting the building. The man, later identified as Harris, said someone had ransacked his apartment and stolen a firearm, according to charging documents. He was detained.
Police found a man in another unit who was dead. He was identified as Michael L. Groves, 42. A woman in the apartment was not injured.
Officers at the gas station reviewed video surveillance which showed a man wearing black clothing, red tennis shoes, a blue baseball cap and a red COVID-19 mask shoot a man who was standing in front of the store’s glass doors.
The victim ran to a grassy area where police found him. He was pronounced dead. He was identified as Cleveland Fuller III, 36.
Prosecutors said the clothing seen in the video matched what Harris was wearing when he was detained.
According to charging documents, Harris was being booked when he said, “It started at the gas station . . . someone shot at me so I shot back.”
Police said Fuller was unarmed.
Prosecutors requested a $400,000 cash bond.
Court records have not listed an attorney for Harris.
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