Gun charge filed against ex-boyfriend in Independence shootout that left 2 sisters dead
A 48-year-old man with a criminal history of domestic assault allegedly drove to his ex-girlfriend’s Independence home and walked up with a gun in hand before a shootout that left her and her sister dead late Friday afternoon.
Prosecutors have charged the man, Namphonh Suady, of Independence, with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. An arrest warrant calls for him to be held on a $250,000 cash bond.
Court documents made public Tuesday do not outline the relationship between Suady and the two sisters, 47-year-old Jessika Koehler and 44-year-old Janessa Russell. But Suady was identified by family members of the women as an ex-boyfriend.
Police were called around 5:30 p.m. Friday to a home in the 1300 block of North Lynn Street for a reported shooting. Officers found one of the women in the driveway and the second on the basement floor. Both died of gunshot wounds.
Suady was shot in his left arm. A blood trail led away from the residence, showing Suady’s path, and he was taken into custody around the corner at Noland Road and East Elizabeth Street, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in support of the criminal charge.
Paramedics took Suady to the hospital. He remained there Tuesday, an Independence police spokesman said.
Detectives obtained footage recorded by a home surveillance camera that showed Suady arrive at the residence in a silver-colored vehicle and exit with a pistol in hand, the police affidavit says.
The surveillance video showed Suady running into the driveway and firing a handgun toward the residence, according to the affidavit, and “other subjects inside the residence” firing gunshots.
Police did not immediately locate the firearm when Suady was found Friday afternoon. A K-9 dog trained to sniff out guns and ammunition led police to an air conditioning unit behind a residence.
There was a pool of blood, believed to be Suady’s, and a 9mm handgun on the ground, the affidavit says. Apparent blood was also found on the grip and slide of the pistol.
In an online GoFundMe webpage post, Nicholas Russell-Gamble, a son of one of the slain women, wrote that Koehler and Russell were sisters, and Suady was an ex-boyfriend of his aunt’s.
He wrote that he arrived home Friday to learn “the two women I hold dear most were shot and killed.”
A message from a Star reporter sent to the family member was not immediately returned Tuesday. The fundraiser seeks financial help to pay for both funerals.
The weapons charge Suady faces in Jackson County is possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Suady has felony convictions in state and federal courts for offenses that include first-degree assault, armed criminal action, drug possession, forgery and domestic assault, according to court documents. The criminal complaint filed by Jackson County prosecutors references a felony assault case from 2011 that resulted in a two-year prison sentence.
At the time of the shooting, the police affidavit says, Suady had an active felony warrant out of Florida for alleged interference in the custody of a minor child.
As of Tuesday, prosecutors had not charged Suady with any other crimes related to the shooting deaths of Koehler and Russell.
Additional criminal charges against Suady are possible as the shooting remains under investigation, said Mike Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Online records did not list a defense attorney representing Suady in the case as of Tuesday. An initial court appearance had yet to be scheduled.
The Star’s Andrea Klick contributed to this report.
