Second brother set for plea on charges in shooting at North Kansas City High School
One of the men charged in a shooting that injured two people and sent attendees at a North Kansas City High School basketball game scrambling for safety last year is scheduled to plead guilty later this month, according to court records.
Lavon’Dre Smallwood pleaded not guilty to the five counts he was charged with in Clay County Circuit Court last year: first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.
According to court documents filed Wednesday, Smallwood is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on Oct. 29, and a trial that was scheduled for December was canceled.
Lavon’Dre Smallwood’s brother, Michael Smallwood, was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison in June after he pleaded guilty to three felonies related to the shooting: two counts of second-degree assault and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. He also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of fourth-degree assault.
The March 2, 2024, shooting on the North Kansas City High School campus happened as a debate event and a basketball game between North Kansas City and Staley high schools had drawn people to the school. Two groups fired a flurry of gunshots at each other, and the sound of gunfire sent people running.
Police have said that 54 shell casings were found at the scene, and during a sentencing hearing for Michael Smallwood earlier this year, a judge told him it was a miracle the shooting hadn’t become a mass casualty event.
Prosecutors have said five people fired shots outside during an exchange between two groups of young men. All five had loaded guns inside the North Kansas City High School gym, authorities said. Investigators said the gunfire stemmed from a dispute that touched off after the two groups left the basketball game.
Two people were injured: One, a bystander, was a student who was not associated with the two groups, and the second was a member of one of the groups who allegedly fired a gun during the exchange.
Nathaniel Greer and Je’Kwon Serell were also charged following the shooting. Their cases are still pending.
More charges for Nathaniel Greer
Greer, who was charged with a count of unlawful use of a weapon for injuring a person, one count of armed criminal action and another count of unlawful use of a weapon for carrying a loaded firearm into a school, was arrested in Buchanan County in July after he posted his $250,000 bond in December 2024, according to court records.
His bond was set at $1 million in July after prosecutors said he wasn’t complying with his release terms, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Later that month, authorities said Greer and another man, Brandon Carter, were found at a St. Joseph residence with drugs, weapons and $2,225 in cash. Prosecutors have alleged the two men were trafficking fentanyl.
A Buchanan County deputy wrote in court documents that during a search of the St. Joseph home, a handgun was found on the floor next to where Greer was sitting and that investigators found a duffle bag that contained Greer’s driver’s license and a bag of fentanyl powder.
In Carter’s room, investigators allegedly found a rifle, a handgun, fentanyl powder, meth and what they believed to be mushrooms and ecstasy.
Greer was charged with a count of unlawful use of a weapon and a count of second-degree trafficking of drugs. He was denied bond in that case.
Previous reporting from The Star’s Robert Cronkleton is included in this story.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM.
