Police search for stolen car believed to be connected to killing aboard Amtrak
Police are asking the public for help finding a 2015 Dodge Charger that was stolen during an armed carjacking shortly after a father of three children was fatally shot aboard an Amtrak train in Lee’s Summit, a police spokesman said.
Detectives were searching for the gray Charger with Missouri license ED6-M0U, said Sgt. Chris Depue, a spokesman for Lee’s Summit police. The sedan has a very loud exhaust system and tinted windows. It was missing its front license plate.
“They believe that it’s related — they have no reason to believe it is not — but until we find that car we can’t really further the case on the carjacking side to confirm that it’s related to our homicide,” Depue said.
A man in his late 20s or early 30s took the car by force around 9 p.m. Friday. That would have been shortly after 30-year-old Richie T. Aaron Jr. was shot aboard an Amtrak train while it was stopped at the Lee’s Summit station near 3rd and Main streets, police said.
It was not discovered that Aaron was shot until about 9:15 p.m. after the train traveled north to Independence. There were not “a large number of passengers” in the train car and those on board didn’t immediately recognize that Aaron had been shot, Depue had previously said.
Aaron was pronounced dead at the scene.
A GoFundMe online fundraising page has been set up seeking donations to cover Aaron’s funeral expenses and to help his family.
“Richie was a one of a kind, loving family man,” Breayonna Aaron, who organized the fundraiser. “We are sad to say he was unexpectedly killed, as his wife and 3 kids awaited his arrival from a long work week.”
The investigation is ongoing and police have yet to establish a motive. Although the area is “heavy with cameras,” police do not have any video that they’re ready to release to the public, he said.
“We have several promising leads in the case that we feel will lead to an arrest,” said Depue, who said the killing is a joint investigation involving Lee’s Summit police and Amtrak and Union Pacific police.
The investigation has taken two directions — the carjacking and suspect development in the homicide, Depue said. While police knew of the carjacking, they wanted to be more confident that it was connected to the homicide before asking for help finding it.. Also, they wanted to remain focused on the killing.
“Now that we’ve developed it as a lead, we want to let the public help us do what we do,” he said.
This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 1:49 PM.
