Man charged in 2018 KCK shooting that left young father dead
A man has been charged in a 2018 shooting death that left a young Edwardsville father dead.
Lavont Ahzai Carter, 24, faces a first-degree murder charge for his alleged role in the March 11, 2018 shooting death of 20-year-old K.C. Gillespie, Kansas City, Kansas Police Department spokesperson Nancy Chartrand said in a press release Thursday.
Gillespie was found shot to death March 11, 2018, in his white Chevrolet Suburban. The car crashed into a tree around 1:30 p.m. near 64th Terrace and Tauromee Avenue at the Forest Glen Estates Apartments.
At the time, police told the family it appeared Gillespie had been shot near Elizabeth Avenue and Sandusky Avenue in the complex. He crashed into a tree as he fled north on 64th Street.
Gillespie worked for Smithfield Foods in Edwardsville, where he lived with his fiancé and then 2-year-old daughter.
His family wasn’t sure what Gillespie was doing in the area that day.
“We don’t know why he was in that area,” Gillespie’s grandmother, Bennie Gillespie, previously told The Star. “Even his best friend doesn’t know what he was doing in that area.”
There was a joint memorial service for Gillespie and his grandfather, who died one day after Gillespie, according to Gillespie’s obituary. Gillespie loved to play video games and work on cars.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed reporting.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 5:03 PM.
