Kansas City man charged with murder in Sunday fatal shooting in Raytown

A Kansas City man has been charged in the fatal shooting of a victim who was found dead Sunday morning in Raytown.

Rodney Byrd, 32, was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of Jerone Weathers, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Officers were called to the shooting about 7:25 a.m. Sunday in the 6800 block of Hawthorne Avenue, according to the Raytown Police Department. There, Weathers was found shot in the driver’s seat of a car parked in a home’s driveway.

He died at the scene.

A “large amount” of apparent blood was found on the driveway, according to prosecutors.

Officers detained Byrd, who was on a bed inside the residence, prosecutors said. A witness identified Byrd as the shooter, police said.

Another witness told detectives that after he heard a gunshot, he turned and saw Byrd standing next to Weathers, who was on the ground. Byrd then dragged Weathers’ body and put him in the car, according to charging documents.

A third witness told police that Byrd and Weathers had been arguing before the shooting, prosecutors said.

Interviewed by detectives, Byrd at first said he “blacked out” from intoxication and could not remember what happened, according to court records. He allegedly told detectives the blood found on his clothing was Weathers’.

He also said he know an “accident when I seen one,” according to police.

Weathers’ killing marked the fifth homicide this year in Raytown, according to data maintained by The Star. There were three killings in the city in all of last year, according to The Star’s data.

Byrd did not immediately have an attorney listed in court records who could be reached for comment.

Gun violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project The Star is undertaking in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored in part by Missouri Foundation for Health. As part of this project, The Star will seek the community’s help.

To contribute, visit Report for America online at reportforamerica.org.