Latest news with #MelesaJohnson
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man charged in shooting of Lee's Summit police officer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County prosecutors have filed charges against the 27-year-old man accused of . Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced Monday afternoon that Thomas E. Tolbert has been charged with first-degree assault, second-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm and resisting arrest. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri The officer remains in 'serious condition' as law enforcement agencies continue to search for Tolbert. A was issued in Missouri and Kansas for Tolbert, after he ran from officers following the shooting and then left in a car, police said. The car was recovered in Grandview. According to court records, Lee's Summit police responded to an apartment complex late Sunday night near Southwest Hollywood Drive and Highway 150 regarding Tolbert, who investigators say was involved in a domestic assault with the victim. When an officer approached the suspect in the parking lot of the complex and attempted to detain him, Tolbert broke away and began running on foot, with the officer running after him. Tolbert then began to fire multiple gunshots at the officer, striking him four times, according to court documents. Court records say the officer was hit in the leg, left arm, chest of his body armor and his shoulder. Investigators are working with law enforcement partners to track down Tolbert. According to the LSPD, there is no danger to the public at this time. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 1-800-KS-CRIME. KC Crime Stoppers is also offering a $10,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest of Tolbert. You can call the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-8477. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
These ideas from Jackson County Prosecutor's Office blocked in county budget stalemate
Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@ Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. As the Jackson County Legislature continues to debate which county services should be funded in an emergency capacity without an approved 2025 budget, the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office says several of its proposals have been effectively disabled by the legislature's refusal to vote on their passage. The prosecutor's office helps administer COMBAT, a quarter-cent tax which has been funding law enforcement, violence prevention, substance-abuse treatment and recidivism organizations in Jackson County since the 1990s. With 2025 COMBAT funds and leftover 2024 funding out of reach, Prosecutor Melesa Johnson and her staffers have focused on trying to free up funding for three specific staffing and operations proposals. Johnson, who testified in depth on her office's budget freeze woes during a May 14th meeting of the Jackson County Legislature, has been vocal about the impact of the legislature's refusal to treat COMBAT and other programs as candidates for emergency funding. All three proposals have been through several legislative votes but remain in committee. Among them is a request to release $75,000 for the prosecutor's office to hire a community engagement specialist for COMBAT. The proposed new role, formally titled Community Organizer and Social Media Content Specialist, has been on the legislature's agenda since March 31, where legislators have delayed their final vote at least five times. COMBAT will be back on the ballot in Jackson County in 2027. Promoting COMBAT to future voters would be a main function of the community engagement specialist, Johnson said. A second COMBAT-related proposal before the legislature, which would allow the purchase of new grant management software for $100,000, has also been delayed at least six times since March 31. The seven full-time staffers who manage the COMBAT program currently organize all grant funding through Microsoft Excel, a process which Johnson described as slow and counterproductive. 'Frankly, given the delay of fiscal year 2025 with getting the funded agencies their dollars, that expedited payment system is all the more important,' Johnson said. 'We're going to be playing catch-up, and we can't play catch-up doing things manually.' At a May 14 meeting of the Jackson County Legislature, first district legislator Jalen Anderson referred to the $175,000 pair of proposals as 'overwhelmingly needed in COMBAT.' 'COMBAT is still very much so stuck in the '90s in a lot of ways,' Anderson said. At its May 19th meeting, the Jackson County Legislature also declined for the eighth time to make a decision on whether to enter into a $25,000 agreement with former prosecutor's office communications director Mike Mansur for ongoing work with crime prevention campaign SAVE KC. Mansur's position, which he has been filling on a voluntary basis since January, organizes one of SAVE KC's main events — 'call-in' meetings where police, religious leaders and victims' families connect with community members identified as likely to be involved in violent crimes. Johnson told legislators that SAVE KC is the backbone of the county's efforts against nonfatal shootings, which she said have been reduced by more than half in the past year. Johnson said that she worries that unfunded or underfunded violence prevention programs will lose out on their greatest potential for impact if COMBAT funding remains tied up into the summer, when violent crime tends to spike. 'Because we don't have a budget, that does not mean crime stops,' Johnson said.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Woman sentenced for connection in deadly shooting of two teens in south Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 19-year-old woman has been sentenced for her involvement in a . Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced on Monday that Linda Ater was sentenced to 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. Deadly KCK shooting happened during drug deal, police chief says Initial reports of the deadly incident said that on Dec. 9, 2024, just before 3:30 p.m., officers with the Kansas City Police Department were called to an apartment complex in the area of Blue Hills Road and Citadel Drive on reports of gunshot sounds. Upon arrival, witnesses pointed officers to a car in the parking lot where 19-year-old Deontae D. Marchbanks and 17-year-old Cierra Pennington were found. According to court documents, Marchbanks was pronounced dead at the scene and Pennington later died after she was taken to a hospital. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Court documents say that multiple shell casings were found at the scene, as well as video surveillance footage from the apartment complex allegedly showing Ater holding a handgun and shooting at the victims alongside an unnamed male. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police, prosecutor optimistic after first year of new KC crime prevention plan
Officials who have spearheaded a campaign to prevent violent crime in Kansas City by connecting people with resources say the one-year-old program, SAVE KC, has seen both success stories and shortcomings since it started last spring. Even as violent crime continues to soar in Kansas City, with the number of homicides higher than they were at this time last year, police and prosecutors say they are still hopeful about what the ambitious crime prevention plan can accomplish. SAVE KC or Stand Against Violence, Everyone/ Everywhere/ Every Day, works by identifying those most likely to commit and be victims of violent crimes, and invites them to a 'call-in' meeting featuring messages from police, religious leaders and victims' families. The program includes aggressive monitoring and offers support like counseling and job opportunities to help people transition out of a life of violence. Through SAVE KC, many people have been able to get the help they need over the past year, Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said at a Friday news conference. But others, after hearing the message, still chose to continue a path of violence and have been charged with crimes. Friday's news conference was held while police were actively investigating the city's most recent homicide, which left a mother dead outside her south Kansas City home Friday. 'While, of course, we have much more work to do, and please, nobody interpret this as a victory lap, we do have some early indicators that are telling us we are heading in the right direction,' Johnson said. 'And frankly, that does give us hope, and we do have to hold on to hope.' Since SAVE KC's inception, 45 people attended the call-in meetings and more than half continued services with organizations to get resources, officials announced Friday. Gwendolyn Grant, president of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said she has always pressed on getting to the root causes of crime to stop cycles of violence. SAVE KC, so far, has shown promise in meeting some of those needs, she said. 'Many of these individuals didn't realize that they did have options, and this SAVE KC program offers options,' Grant said. 'We're happy to report that many of them are taking the options provided.' At the press conference Friday, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said the prosecutor's office and police department are working closer together than ever before on reducing gun violence. Graves and other officials touted the program's success as a contributor to a lower number of non-fatal shootings so far in 2025, after last year saw a significant jump in non-fatal shootings. Historically, most of Kansas City's non-fatal shootings have been attributed to group gun violence, or gang-related shootings, Graves said, which SAVE KC aims to reduce. 'Non-fatal shootings are significantly down, and I can't help but to think that's from a lot of the work that's going on here in Kansas City... all of us coming together for one year to make Kansas City safer and reduce gun violence,' Graves said. More homicides have come from domestic violence situations so far this year, Graves said Friday. As of April 4, according to KCPD data, 12 of Kansas City's 41 homicides were domestic violence incidents, while 15 were from arguments. While SAVE KC does not focus on domestic violence, authorities are working to address those situations with the same intensity, Graves said. Officials will be speaking toward the uptick in domestic violence killings at some point next week, Graves said at the news conference. A former gang member who's now a business owner, and a mother whose child was shot and killed — both delivered a clear message to offenders at a SAVE KC meeting this week — turn away from violence. According to officials, 11 of the 13 attendees of that meeting accepted social services for mental health, employment, and housing. Graves shared one success story of a former East Side Gang member who was invited to the first SAVE KC message in May 2024. After hearing the message, Graves said, the man turned his life around and has since spoken as an impact speaker at other SAVE KC call-ins. According to Graves, the man, whose identity was kept anonymous, has not been involved in any new criminal activity. 'This is what we hope for every attendee this year,' Graves said. But not all SAVE KC attendees have heeded the message to turn from violence. A challenging part of the program, officials said, is that its success hinges on decisions of the individual. Johnson shared a story about a SAVE KC client who chose to continue down a destructive path despite hearing the message. After a confrontation with police involving a firearm, the man now faces charges that can result in a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, Johnson said. Another young woman, around 18-years-old, was identified by SAVE KC as at-risk, but did not attend a call-in she was invited to, Johnson said. She was charged earlier this year in connection with a double homicide that took place last year. One of the victims in the case was also a SAVE KC client, Johnson said. 'It is another tragic example of the consequences for those who reject our help — prison time and even death,' Johnson said. 'But there is another path... and many, many people are taking it.' Johnson said that other path is SAVE KC clients getting resources to find employment, secure housing, receive treatment for trauma and substance abuse, and reconnect with their families and loved ones. 'And you know, from our perspective, the choice is clear, give up your life of crime, accept help, or, from my perspective, face the full weight of prosecution,' Johnson said.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
Kansas City native Melesa Johnson breaks barriers in Missouri's legal system
You might have heard the saying, "Bloom where you're planted!" This phrase truly reflects the life of the first African American prosecutor in Jackson County, Missouri. Melesa Johnson is a Kansas City native and the next KMBC Project Community Champion.
