Blue Springs man facing murder charges in two separate December shootings
A Blue Springs man is facing murder charges in two separate fatal shootings in December that left two men dead.
Kur Bak, 28, faces two counts each of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of firearm, two counts each of armed criminal action and one count of first-degree assault, according to a complaint filed in Jackson County court.
On Dec. 3, officers with the Kansas City Police Department were dispatched to the 2500 block of Hardesty Avenue around 1:30 a.m. after a caller requested an ambulance for a man lying on the ground, according to a probable cause statement in support of Bak’s arrest.
There, officers found Jerome Hawkins, 27, suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the probable cause statement. Hawkins was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators were able to find surveillance footage of the incident, the probable cause statement said, and it showed Hawkins walking south on Hardesty Avenue toward a gas station on Van Brunt Boulevard.
While walking, Hawkins encountered a man, believed to be Bak, the probable cause statement said. The pair appeared to exchange words, camera footage shows, before Hawkins kept walking, with Bak following him.
A second surveillance video showed Hawkins walking in the 2500 block of Hardesty Avenue when Bak ran behind the man and shot him, knocking him to the ground.
Seven more shots were fired toward Hawkins, the probable cause statement said. Bak then reportedly fled the scene, but not before dropping a “fully loaded handgun magazine in the middle of Hardesty Avenue.”
At 1:46 a.m., officers were dispatched to the scene of a separate shooting near East 8th Street and Olive Street, according to the probable cause statement. Detectives located the same 9mm caliber shell casings at both scenes.
Investigators believed the casings were fired from the same gun, according to the probable cause statement.
In an interview with the victim of the second shooting, the man told investigators a dark-colored SUV parked next him, the probable cause statement said. A man allegedly got out of the vehicle, approached him, and shot him several times.
The vehicle, a dark blue Chevy Equinox, was seen in surveillance footage at both crime scenes. Investigators were able to identify Bak as a frequent driver of the vehicle. Additionally, Bak’s DNA was found on the handgun magazine dropped at the scene.
On Dec. 21, around 4:30 a.m., officers were dispatched to Admiral Boulevard and Paseo Boulevard on reports of a shooting, according to the probable cause statement. There, officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to the face.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, the probable cause statement said. Police have yet to identify the man.
Surveillance footage showed a silver sedan traveling east on Independence Avenue before stopping at a sandwich shop, according to the probable cause statement. A man, believed to be Bak, is seen exiting the vehicle before walking toward the victim.
The car was registered to one of Bak’s relatives, according to the probable cause statement.
In a search warrant executed at Bak’s residence, investigators found a firearm and bullets matching the shell casings located at the crime scene, the probable cause statement said. Bak’s identification card was found with the firearm.
The clothes the suspect was wearing in surveillance footage were found in the basement of the residence, according to the probable cause statement.
Bak is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $500,000 cash-only bond, according to the jail’s inmate listing. No court dates are set in Bak’s case.
