Prosecutors charge Kansas City man who allegedly fired assault rifle at suburban detective
Jackson County prosecutors have charged a 33-year-old man with seven felonies for allegedly firing an assault rifle at a plainclothes Leawood police detective who was in Kansas City investigating an automobile theft.
Stefan A. Dixon, of Kansas City, is accused of first-degree assault, unlawful weapon use, armed criminal action, tampering with a motor vehicle and resisting arrest by fleeing police, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court. He was being held in the county jail on a $150,000 bond.
Authorities allege Dixon fired the rifle from inside a stolen vehicle that was being followed by a Leawood detective Monday afternoon near East 38th Street and Wabash Avenue, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in court Tuesday. The detective’s vehicle was not struck by gunfire and no one was injured.
The suburban detectives were investigating a reported theft of a vehicle out of a Leawood driveway. Its owner told police there was a GPS device showing its possible location in Kansas City.
One of the detectives followed the stolen auto for about 11 minutes in an unmarked police vehicle through the Ivanhoe Northeast neighborhood. He witnessed an apparent hand-to-hand drug transaction when the driver stopped at a residence.
The detective continued to follow, calling KCPD to assist by pulling the vehicle over, and lost sight of it over a hill. The detective then came upon the vehicle as it was parked near a small church with its driver’s door open.
The detective saw the long barrel of a rifle and took evasive action, accelerating and weaving left to right to “present a moving target,” and radioed dispatch for help. He saw the shooter drive north on Wabash Avenue and then west on 37th Street.
The detective reported hearing about 10 gunshots and fearing for his life. He later told Kansas City police investigators he was certain the driver knew he was police as his vehicle is a blue Ford Explorer with red-and-blue lights in its grill.
Kansas City police pursued the stolen vehicle after it was spotted roughly 30 minutes later near 75th Street and Troost Avenue. Dixon was arrested after a high-speed chase that went through several red lights until the vehicle became disabled in the 6400 block of East 87th Street.
During a police interview Monday, Dixon said he found the stolen car near 39th Street and Wabash Avenue with its engine running and an assault rifle in the front passenger seat. After driving it to buy methamphetamine, he said, he noticed an SUV behind him and took several turns to confirm he was being followed.
He allegedly admitted to firing the gun but said he aimed “over the SUV so he wouldn’t hurt anyone,” according to the affidavit.
Dixon made his initial appearance on the charges Wednesday in Jackson County. A judge ordered he be screened for representation by the Missouri Public Defender’s Office.
Court records showed no defense attorney assigned to Dixon’s case as of Wednesday. A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 30.
