Kansas City man found not guilty in 2017 killing of three Tulsa men
One of the four Kansas City men originally charged with killing three Tulsa men was found not guilty by a Jackson County jury Tuesday.
Prosecutors had accused Ravon Freeman — along with Rashidi Crosdale, Tyree West and Terrence Harden — of fatally shooting the three men in July 2017.
The not guilty verdict marked the first acquittal of the year, the prosecutors office said.
Freeman and Harden had both been charged with two counts of first degree murder and armed criminal action. Harden pleaded guilty in recent days to attempted robbery in exchange for testifying against Freeman, said Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
West and Crosdale each face three counts of first degree murder and armed criminal action.
“Mr. Freeman has always maintained his innocence regarding this matter. My law partner, Josh Peter, and I are grateful to the jurors who listened and reviewed the evidence in this case and reached the right and just conclusion,” said Garrett Solomon, Freeman’s attorney. “A miscarriage of justice has been avoided and now Mr. Freeman will be reunited with his family after being away from them for over two years.”
The three Tulsa men — 31-year-old John W. Waldon, 46-year-old Darren L. Harris and 49-year-old Andre L. Barnes — left Tulsa to go to Kansas City for an alleged drug deal. They were killed in two separate shootings.
Kansas City police responded at about 9:30 p.m. on July 1, 2017, to the 1600 block of East 80th Street. Officers found a silver BMW on the street with Harris’ body inside.
About 30 minutes later, police found the bodies of Waldon and Barnes in the street near East 28th Terrace and Myrtle Avenue. Police also found dozens of shell casings at the scene.
“We believed it was important to pursue this case even though we knew it would be difficult because of witness cooperation, threats of intimidation and evidentiary issue,” Mansur said in a statement. “The community should know that our office exerted great effort to bring justice, and we stand by our decision to charge this case.”
In an interview with investigators, Harden previously said he was at the intersection during the shootings, but didn’t take part. He said he was at the scene to buy marijuana from Crosdale. Harden said he saw Crosdale pull out his gun as two men put their hands in the air before Freeman and Crosdale allegedly started shooting. Harden said he left as he heard the gunshots.
Crosdale’s phone was in the area of the second homicide scene when it happened.
West and Crosdale are both being held at the Jackson County jail on $500,000 bond, according to court records. They are both due in court on Oct. 14 at 1:30 p.m. A jury trail for both is scheduled to start Nov. 7 at 9 a.m.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 2:08 PM.
