FBI agents with Operation LeGend assisted KC police in murder case charged Tuesday
A Kansas City man was charged Tuesday in the June beating of a victim found dead in the middle of a street in northeast Kansas City, according to court records.
Antoine Cotton, 42, was charged with second-degree murder in the June 15 killing of 51-year-old Hoang Dinh, who was found in the 3600 block of Thompson Avenue with severe trauma to his head.
Police were assisted with surveillance in the case by FBI agents assigned to Operation LeGend, a new federal anti-crime initiative, according to charging documents.
After officers responded to the call before 2 a.m., they found a blanket over the top half of the victim’s body. When they removed it, they found injuries to his head and a window weight nearby.
A witness later told police she and a friend were in the area when they noticed couches on the corner of Thompson and Askew avenues and thought they were still good to use. They began loading the cushions into a truck.
Dinh walked up and the witnesses offered him $5 to help them load the couch in the truck. Then a man, later identified as Cotton, also agreed to help them. But then Cotton picked up an object and began striking Dinh several times over the head with it, causing the victim to fall, according to police.
One witness told detectives it sounded like Dinh’s skull was cracking at first. Then, it sounded like his head was “mush,” according to court documents.
The suspect went by the nickname “Nephew,” witnesses told police.
On Monday, members of the Career Criminal Task Force along with the FBI agents conducted surveillance to locate a witness. He was found with Cotton, who later told police he goes by the name “Nephew.”
The witness uttered to officers: “Man, he snuck up on that dude and hit him in the head for no reason.” The witness was shown a photo of Cotton; the witness said he was the one who hit Dinh in the head.
Cotton was taken to police headquarters, where he told detectives he had never seen the victim before and denied involvement in the killing.
The case is the second known murder charge connected with Operation LeGend, which was named after 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was fatally shot while sleeping last month. It was launched in Kansas City to curb violent crime and has since been expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque by Attorney General William Barr.
The operation’s first arrest was of a man charged with being an unlawful drug user in possession of firearms, which prompted some community leaders to question its efficacy.
Days later, officials said FBI agents in the city as part of the operation assisted police in arresting 44-year-old Joel Roseberry, who was charged with second-degree murder in a March fatal shooting.
Cotton did not have an attorney listed in court records who could be reached for comment as of Tuesday. He was being held at the Jackson County Detention Center.
