U.S. Attorney General Barr to visit Kansas City and address Operation LeGend Wednesday
U.S. Attorney General William Barr will appear Wednesday in Kansas City to make an announcement on Operation LeGend, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release Tuesday.
He will be joined at 11 a.m. at Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse by Deputy Director of the FBI David L. Bowdich and U.S. district attorneys from Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, Michigan, Tennessee, Indiana and Missouri, including Western District of Missouri Attorney Timothy A. Garrison.
Operation LeGend was launched last month and brought more than 200 federal agents tasked with stemming Kansas City’s violent crime.
No additional information about the announcement was released Tuesday.
There have been 127 homicides so far this year, putting 2020 on track to be the city’s deadliest year, according to data maintained by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. This time last year there had been 91 killings.
The federal initiative was named after LeGend Taliferro, a four-year-old who was shot while sleeping in his bedroom on June 29.
Last week, charges were filed in his death. Ryson Ellis, 22, of Kansas City, was charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.
On July 28, Barr, speaking before the House Judiciary Committee, said he misspoke after claiming the operation had resulted in 200 arrests.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas City said the 200 arrests had been made locally as part of Operation Relentless Pursuit, an initiative announced in December that combined federal, state and local resources.
On July 31, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri said Operation LeGend had led to 97 arrests. Another 59 were announced Aug. 7.
The anti-crime operation has expanded to St. Louis, Memphis, Chicago, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 1:30 PM.
