Prosecutors charge KC man in police-involved Westport shooting with 5 injured, 1 dead
Jackson County prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old man with a dozen felonies in connection with a chaotic summer shootout involving Kansas City police in the Westport bar district that left five wounded and one dead.
The shooting unfolded on Broadway Boulevard on July 10 around 11 p.m. after a fight outside Westport Ale House, 4128 Broadway, prompting a massive response by police and emergency personnel. Six people were struck by gunfire, including 24-year-old Cardell Crawford, a father of one who died in the hospital.
Lavont A. Carter, of Kansas City, is charged with second-degree felony murder for alleged unlawful weapon use that resulted in Crawford being fatally shot, according to a criminal complaint announced by prosecutors Thursday. He also is charged with two counts of second-degree assault for allegedly injuring two people by “recklessly” firing a gun.
As of Thursday, Carter was also charged with six counts of armed criminal action.
Authorities have said the shooting began with exchanges of gunfire between at least two separate groups of people. At least two bystanders, including a woman outside the bar and a private security officer, were wounded. Kansas City police have said three police officers fired their weapons toward shooters in response.
According to a probable cause affidavit from a Kansas City police detective, Carter was identified as the person who fired first, setting off a “chain of events” that led to all six people being shot, the document says.
Carter was allegedly filmed on surveillance cameras that showed him enter Westport Ale House about three hours before the shooting. His ID was also scanned by security officers at the door, the charging documents say.
Around 11 p.m., a large fight broke out inside the bar. Carter was involved and ended up being carried out by one of the KCPD officers working off-duty security, according to court documents. He then appeared to walk down Broadway with others and retrieve an item, suspected to be a firearm, from a parked vehicle.
Minutes after Carter was ejected, court documents say, Crawford and another person who was shot that night were seen leaving the bar and walking toward the Chrysler van they arrived in.
Authorities allege Carter was later seen on video firing upon the van and in the direction of a woman standing outside and a Westport security officer.
Charging documents do not make clear precisely how Crawford was struck by gunfire. Carter is currently accused of felony murder, a crime where an underlying felony offense directly contributes to the death of a person.
Prosecutors say a warrant was issued for Carter’s arrest in November. Charging documents, initially filed under seal, were made public upon his recent arrest.
The case against Carter was investigated by KCPD. Separately, the Missouri State Highway Patrol was tasked with investigating the use of force by KCPD officers.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has yet to issue a public finding on the use of force.
In July, search warrant applications filed by state police detectives investigating the use of force said two of the gunshot victims — including Crawford, the man killed that night — were struck by bullets from “unknown source(s)” as they fired guns from beside a Chrysler rental van. Those documents said at least three of those involved in the disturbance “retreated” to that van down the street from the bar.
