11-06-2025
Man charged in connection with death of Platte County sports reporter shot on I-29
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City man is facing multiple criminal charges, including murder, after investigators said he shot and killed a Platte County sports reporter during a road-rage incident in early January.
According to court records, Ruslan Huseynov has been charged with one count of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful use of a weapon in a moving vehicle, in connection with the death of 50-year-old Dennis A. Sharkey.
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said that on Friday, Jan. 10, just after 7 p.m., Kansas City police officers were called to a shooting on the off-ramp of Interstate 29 and Northwest 72nd Street in Platte County.
The callers, a boyfriend/girlfriend couple, told police they had been driving behind two vehicles — a dark-colored car, labeled as the 'suspect vehicle,' and a white car, labeled as the 'victim vehicle'– on I-29 South, according to court records.
The witnesses told police they had been following the two cars, with the gray one in the lead, before being forced to come to a complete stop on the road.
Court records say the witnesses then drove around the cars and saw the driver of the dark vehicle step out of the driver's side door with a gun in his hand.
Before the shooting took place, the witnesses told law enforcement they immediately fled the scene when they saw the gun, but had heard gunshots as they were driving away.
Shortly after, officers arrived. The KCPD said they found a car off the highway, in an embankment on the outer road, south of Northwest 72nd Street.
The KCPD said they found a unresponsive man, later identified as Sharkey, a sports reporter at The Platte County Citizen newspaper, inside the car with gunshot wounds. He was subsequently taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
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But, until Wednesday afternoon, when the charges against Huseynov were released, little information about the shooting or a potential suspect had been shared.
Court records say Huseynov was traced to the shooting via a search warrant on his cell phone records, which showed him in the Platte City area on the night of Sharkey's death.
It was also noted that video surveillance footage captured Huseynov driving a gray Hyundai Elantra around the time the shooting took place.
Then, exactly five months after the shooting, on Tuesday, June 10, Huseynov was arrested for an unrelated charge, which is currently pending.
While being questioned, court records say Huseynov was asked about the I-29 shooting, but he continuously denied ever owning a gun. Court records say investigators later showed him a photo from his iCloud account, which showed a hand holding a 9mm gun that matched the description of the gun linked to the deadly shooting.
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Huseynov continued denying that the gun was his, though, leading investigators to issue a search warrant for his home, court records say.
While searching his property, it was reported that a 9mm handgun was found inside a safe in his bedroom. According to the Kansas City Police Department Crime Laboratory, the gun matched the shell casings found at the crime scene.
Now, Huseynov is being held in a Platte County jail and is facing a charge of murder in connection with the crime. No details have been released regarding a bond or a future hearing.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned with FOX4 News for the latest updates and information.
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