Prosecutors charge KC man with first degree murder in January shooting of 60-year-old
Jackson County prosecutors have charged a 25-year-old man following the killing of a 60-year-old woman.
Travon M. Williams, of Kansas City, was charged with first degree murder, kidnapping and two counts of armed criminal action in the Jan. 12 shooting death of Linda Gantt, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Officers were dispatched to the 3600 block of Olive Street just before 2 p.m. on Jan. 12 on calls of shots fired. When they arrived, they located a crime scene consisting of 19 9mm shell casings, bullet fragments and shattered glass, according to the probable cause statement provided in court documents.
Kansas City police had received multiple calls of shots fired coming from that area. Parties on the scene told officers there had been an argument outside of a residence on the block. One neighbor said they saw a man with a handgun flee in a SUV following the gunshots, though they did not witness the shooting.
One witness, who was driving the car in which Gantt was shot, was taken to KCPD headquarters. The witness told police that Gantt had previously approached them and asked for a ride to residence near 36th and Olive Streets.
When they arrived, Williams appeared at the passenger side window and spoke with Gantt while pointing a pistol at her.
The driver, at one point, pulled away from the curb, driving south bound when he heard several gunshots. He told police that he continued driving when he heard a volley of roughly 15 gunshots, then glass shatter. At that point, the witness said, Gantt turned to him and said she’d been shot.
Gantt died at the hospital later that day.
Williams was convicted in 2019 of first degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in a 2016 death.
According to charging documents, Williams, after shooting at the vehicle, pointed the gun at a woman he dated before his arrest last year and ordered her into his red SUV. The woman told police she believed Williams would have killed her if she did not get in the car.
He drove to a gas station and told the woman to get out and buy a charger or he would “kill her and everyone else.” Eventually, Williams went inside instead, but kept the keys with him. He then drove to the woman’s grandmother’s home in Kansas City, Kansas, and fired multiple shots at her home.
After a phone call with someone else, he began driving to Henry County where he was later arrested.
Prosecutors are asking for a $1 million cash bond.
Gun violence is the subject of a statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.
To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.
This story was originally published January 23, 2021 at 1:13 PM.
