KC man accused of shooting 3 people Wednesday arrested as part of Operation LeGend
A Kansas City man who allegedly shot three people on Wednesday has been arrested as part of Operation LeGend.
Leamandreal Dorsey, 40, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri.
“Court documents cite a long history of gun violence and drug trafficking by this defendant who terrorized his neighborhood, allegedly shooting several victims this week,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Garrison. “This is his second federal charge for illegally possessing firearms. Operation LeGend is successfully taking armed, violent criminals like this off the street to make our neighborhoods safer.”
The charge relates to a April 1 disturbance. Kansas City police responded to the 2500 block of East 68th Terrace where a witness said Dorsey pointed a gun at him.
Police searched a vehicle Dorsey was in and located a handgun with an extended drum magazine with 40 rounds of ammunition, according to charging documents.
Officers returned to the same block Wednesday after three people were shot. They found 31 spent shell casings.
Investigators received a Crime Stoppers tip identifying Dorsey as the shooter, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, and he was arrested.
Operation LeGend has sent more than 200 federal officers to Kansas City this month in an effort to curb violent crime.
The city has recorded 112 homicides so far this year. At this time last year, 80 homicides had been reported.
However the operation has been met with criticism from city leaders and the community.
Last weekend, a group of protesters gathered calling for an end to the operation. The protesters said a larger law enforcement presence will endanger Black people in the city.
Dorsey’s arrest is the third known under the operation. On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the operation’s first arrest, a man charged with being an unlawful drug user in possession of firearms, which prompted some community leaders to question its efficacy at fighting violent crime.
A Kansas City woman also reported that federal agents in unmarked vehicles pointed guns at her family, including her young children, while arresting the father of her child as part of the operation. He was charged with six crimes, including felon in possession of ammunition, felon in possession of a firearm and drug offenses. The allegations date from October 2017 to as recently as March.
On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said 200 arrests had resulted from Operation LeGend, but the Department of Justice backtracked on the number, saying that number dated back to December 2019.
The operation has expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque, whose mayors expressed concerns about the Trump administration’s push to wade into cities’ law enforcement.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said he welcomes federal help in solving homicides, but was worried that the operation will expand beyond its original scope.
