Kansas City man charged with murder for allegedly shooting and killing man after bar fight
Jackson County prosecutors charged a Kansas City man with murder for allegedly shooting and killing a man after a bar fight broke out between several women.
Keylen Madge was charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action for allegedly killing 36-year-old Theus C. Dewberry on Nov. 18.
Officers responded just after 11 p.m. to the area of 23rd Street and Lawn Avenue, where they met a large group of people who pointed them to a vacant home on 24th Street, according to the probable cause statement. Behind the home, they found Dewberry lying face down and barely conscious near a concrete retaining wall about three feet down.
Dewberry was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:47 p.m.
Dewberry’s fiancée and another witness told officers that after the fight, they heard multiple gunshots, noticed blood on the ground and saw Dewberry and the suspect run from the bar and eventually turn onto Lawn Avenue.
Witnesses also pointed out a black Honda Accord leaving the area that they said was involved in the incident. Police stopped the vehicle and talked with two people inside.
The women said they were asked to leave the bar after a fight broke out between someone in their party and another woman. One of the women realized her shoes had come off, so they reentered the bar and were told someone was shot.
In a formal interview with detectives, Dewberry’s fiancée said she got in a fight with the sister of Dewberry’s child’s mother. The fight moved outside the bar, where the suspect hit Dewberry’s fiancée’s sister.
Dewberry’s fiancée reentered the bar to tell Dewberry what happened. They exited together, and she told her to get in the car. As she entered, the woman heard gunshots and looked up to see the suspect standing in the street with a gun, which he then allegedly pointed at her sister before running.
Another witness told detectives she was leaving the bar after the fight, when she heard Dewberry tell the suspect “Bro, we can’t be hittin no girls,” according to the probable cause statement. She turned toward Dewberry, heard a gunshot and saw Dewberry run as the suspect allegedly shot several more times.
She tried to run after Dewberry, but her cousin pulled her down to the ground before the suspect allegedly pointed the gun at them. He then turned around and left in a black car, the witness told detectives.
Surveillance video from inside and outside the bar reviewed by police showed bouncers move involved parties toward the door as a fight broke out between two women, according to the probable cause statement. The suspect could also be seen moving from the back of the bar toward the front door, and, once the fight moves outside, the suspect is seen punching one of the women.
More people, including Dewberry and his fiancée, exit the bar. Police said it appeared the suspect and a woman dressed in all red were waiting for them to exit.
The video shows Dewberry walking up to the woman in red and another woman, and the suspect follows. As the group talks, another argument appears to start, and the suspect seems to gesture to Dewberry as if he wants to fight, according to the probable cause statement.
Dewberry and the suspect eventually go out of the camera’s view, and a few minutes later, uninvolved people can be seen reacting to something in front of the bar and ducking, according to police.
After the women were escorted from the bar, another witness told detectives he heard a woman call someone and asked him to come to the bar because “these b****** are trippin,” according to the probable cause statement.
After the shooting, the witness said he heard the same woman ask the suspect if he shot Dewberry, and the suspect affirmed. She responded with “Good, now those b****** won’t f*** with me again,” the witness told detectives.
Police identified the suspect as Madge after a police department member responded to a bulletin, saying they were related and provided Madge’s phone number.
Madge’s initial court appearance was Wednesday. He is being held on a $150,000 bond.
