Man charged in brother’s death during 2024 attempted robbery
A man accused of orchestrating an attempted robbery at a Kansas City apartment complex in 2024 is facing a second-degree murder charge after his brother was killed during the incident, authorities said.
Sheldon Perkins, 34, faces one count each of second-degree murder, first-degree attempted robbery, first-degree burglary and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to a criminal complaint. He also faces two counts of armed criminal action.
Kansas City police responded to the Hillcrest Estates apartments in the 8400 block of Drury Circle around 9:45 p.m. on Aug. 26, 2024, on reports of a shooting and attempted robbery, according to a probable cause statement in support of Perkins’ arrest.
Officers found a man lying outside; he had been shot in the back, the statement said. A second man, found in the residence, was declared dead at the scene.
The wounded man was taken to a hospital. He survived the incident, but is now paralyzed from the waist down.
During a search of the apartment, investigators found signs of an altercation, the statement said. Also located were four firearms, a bag of marijuana and a cellphone, the statement said.
In an interview with investigators, a man said he had just left a residence when he noticed three people approaching him from the side of the building, the statement said.
One of the men told him to get back into the apartment, he said. The man did, but attempted to close the door on the three.
The three then allegedly overpowered the man, according to the statement. A fight ensued, and the man grabbed one suspect’s gun and tossed it toward some stairs.
A woman grabbed the gun near the stairs and fired it, fatally striking one of the suspects in the apartment, the statement said. The man and woman then called 911.
Around 10 p.m., Perkins arrived at a hospital, where he told staff he had been shot at during a “random drive-by,” the statement said.
Officers were unable to find evidence of a shooting in the area Perkins had indicated, and investigators subsequently discovered that the man who died was Perkins’ brother, Jazzlyn Johnson, director of communications for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, said in a news release.
Perkins was taken into custody on Oct. 3, 2024, the statement said. Perkins allegedly told investigators he did not want to change his previous statement, and declined to provide a DNA sample.
He reportedly told officers his DNA would be on a firearm found at the apartment complex because he “may have had incidental contact” with it, the statement said.
Officers later obtained a search warrant to collect Perkins’ DNA, the statement said. During that interaction, investigators expressed “condolences” to Perkins, referring to his brother and the third suspect.
Perkins allegedly responded, “Yeah, I could have been dead, too.” Perkins’ DNA was found on two firearms recovered from the scene.
On Nov. 15, 2024, a witness told officers that around the time of the shooting, the suspects told him they planned to “rob a drug dealer,” the statement said.
Investigators found a group chat among the three suspects on one suspect’s phone, the statement said. The suspect’s vehicle had been seen leaving the complex the night of the shooting.
According to the criminal complaint, Perkins is charged with second-degree murder, even though he did not fire the fatal shot, because the death occurred during “the perpetration of the class B felony of attempted robbery.”
Perkins is being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $200,000 cash-only bond, according to the jail’s inmate listing. He is set to appear for an arraignment hearing March 24.
