Jackson County prosecutors charge third person with murder in Independence motel shooting
Jackson County prosecutors on Wednesday charged a 33-year-old man with murder in an August killing outside an Independence motel.
Martin A. Zamarron, of Kansas City, Kansas, is the third accused in the shooting death of 45-year-old Carlos Palacio. He has been held in the Wyandotte County jail for separate alleged felony offenses, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, since late September, according to an online jail log.
The killing unfolded at the Stadium Inn Motel, 9803 East U.S. Highway 40, in the early morning hours of Aug. 3. Independence police officers responded to a reported shooting and found Palacio dead of apparent gunshot wounds. An autopsy later showed he was shot in the back.
Detectives reviewed surveillance video from the motel and nearby businesses. Footage showed a black SUV and a silver sedan in the area of the motel and a bar down the street in the hours before the killing.
The video also showed Palacio standing out front of the motel and using his phone. At one point, he walked past the black SUV as a person emerged from its passenger side with a rifle and shot him, according to court documents.
Authorities allege Zamarron was identified as a participant in the killing through witness statements, Facebook messages and cellphone records. He is accused of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
An arrest warrant issued in Jackson County on Wednesday calls for Zamarron to be held without bond.
Prosecutors have said Palacio was fatally shot after 40-year-old Courtney Wilcox, of central Missouri, gave him $1,000 to buy drugs for her and later came to believe that Palacio had ripped her off. Wilcox, who has been charged with second-degree murder, told police she had asked another person for help to get her money back.
Also charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action is Charles J. White, 33, of Kansas City, Kansas, who is accused of luring Palacio outside of his motel room before the shooting.
