Shouldn’t a teen released for a crime he didn’t do get attention from city officials? | Opinion
One of the first things you notice about the teen released in the fatal shooting of a popular Kansas City Irish restaurant owner and chef is the boy’s warm and inviting smile. Don’t get me wrong, I had to poke and prod the young fella to get him to flash his toothy grin. He eventually did.
And those piercing eyes stand out, too. His glare is not a menacing one, though. There’s a hint of innocence and sadness in his gaze. He has a thick mustache that belies his youthfulness — he’s only 17. Despite the hoodie the teen wore, I could tell he had a head full of jet black hair underneath the garment.
To protect the young man’s identity, I will refer to him as L.M. in this column and will not use his mother’s name. Although the teen was charged with second-degree murder, attempted theft of a motor vehicle and armed criminal action in connection with the fatal shooting of restaurateur Shaun Brady, the Jackson County Juvenile Court recently dismissed all charges without public notice, according to Matthew Merryman, the teen’s attorney.
“Thank God,” L.M.’s mother said.
Keeping the hoodie intact was understandable. On the day we met, the temperature outside hovered just about freezing and there was a slight draft inside Merryman’s law office in Westport.
It took a while for the teen to warm up to my line of questioning, but who could blame the lad for being closed off to a relative stranger? He’d spent more than three months behind what his mother described as “a cage,” she said, for a crime that evidence clearly showed he did not commit, Merryman contends.
“The last three months has been a terrifying and painful experience for L.M. and his family, especially his mother who, with all of her responsibilities, had to find the strength to support her son as he fought these allegations,” Merryman said.
Mayor, prosecutor denounce gun violence
When Brady was fatally shot in the parking lot of the Brookside eatery he co-owned, some of Jackson County’s top elected officials were very vocal about the gun violence that led to Brady’s death.
Understandably so.
Because of the senseless nature of the crime, the brazen late afternoon shooting reverberated throughout the community. Public officials were quick to denounce the Aug. 28 shooting outside of Brady and Fox Restaurant and Lounge, a popular Irish pub at 751 E. 63rd St.
Within hours of the shooting, L.M. and another teen identified in court documents as 15-year-old K.H. were taken into custody, police officials said then. As of this writing, K.H. remained in juvenile custody and the investigation remains open, according to Kansas City Police Sgt. Phil DiMartino.
Among those expressing dismay at the shooting were Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, Prosecutor-elect Melesa Johnson and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.
After Brady died, each of them made public statements in one form or another regarding the tragedy.
“My husband and I are shocked and heartbroken over the senseless loss of our friend, Shaun Brady,” Baker said in a statement.
In a social media post, Lucas wrote: “Like many in our community, I am heartbroken to learn of the death of Shaun Brady. I grieve for and express my sincerest condolences to his family and all who knew him.”
And on Aug. 29, before she was elected in November, Johnson bemoaned the actions of the teens purportedly involved in Brady’s death in a video posted to her Instagram account.
“For a person to try to steal a car and have the audacity to kill the person that is trying to hold you accountable,” she said.
Where was this same public show of support for L.M. when criminal charges were dropped against the teen?
More than a week after L.M. was released from the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center, we’ve heard nothing from these same officials. I get it, there could be some legal liability issues at play here. But the silence is deafening.
To right these perceived wrongs, I believe Kansas City, its police department and the county prosecutor’s office should offer L.M. and his family every social service program at their collective disposal.
On Friday, I reached out to representatives for both Baker, Johnson and Lucas seeking comment.
In an email, Mike Mansur, a spokesman for Baker’s office, said he’d check to see what the office could say publicly. No one in Lucas’ office bothered to reply to my inquiry. To her credit, Johnson offered a statement via text.
“Out of respect for (Baker), I won’t comment on this or other specific cases until I am sworn in,” she wrote.
If not for the serious nature of this case, the selective outrage would be comical. But there’s nothing humorous about a young man hung out to dry and being charged with a crime his mother and attorney claims he did not commit.
“L.M. almost got railroaded by the system but by the grace of God … he is now free, although he and his family have been left to sort through their own tragedy brought on by these accusations,” Merryman said.
Teenager loves pizza, Broncos and Rams
L.M. grew up playing baseball through Kansas City Parks and Recreation’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program. He also enjoys playing pickup basketball. When I asked L.M. if he was a competitor who likes to win, he replied: “Yes.”
His senior year at a local high school was cut short because of his arrest. His mother plans to help enroll him in an adult education class to obtain his G.E.D.
The teen also needs a job, his mother said.
“He needs all new clothes and new shoes,” she said.
L.M. said his favorite food is pizza. After his release from juvenile custody, the first stop the teen made with his family was at a local Chuck E. Cheese pizzeria to celebrate the birthday of a close relative.
Which brings me back to what I said to get L.M. to open up just a bit. I teased him about living in Kansas City and being a fan of not only the hated Denver Broncos but also the former NFL franchise from St. Louis now known as the Los Angeles Rams.
I asked the teen why he liked those two teams in particular.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I just do.”
And he smiled.
