By Joe Jarosz,
Michael Bushnell
and Daisy De Los Santos

Northeast News
September 23, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Last week, Sept. 15 — 22, saw an unusual amount of crime take place in the Northeast.

The Kansas City Police Department was in the Northeast for shootings, fatal automobile accidents and suspicious deaths. This is a round-up and update of charges of crimes from last week.

Tuesday: Fatality, injuries reported in rolling gun battle

One woman is dead and her six children injured after she was caught in the crossfire of a rolling gun battle.

According to police reports, officers responded to the area of Ninth Street and Hardesty Avenue around 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, on a reported injury from a vehicle accident and shooting. Upon arrival, officers determined that occupants of two vehicles were exchanging gunfire in that area. One vehicle not involved in the dispute, was lying on its side adjacent to the railroad overpass near the intersection. Mariana Hernandez–Gonzales, 30, of Kansas City, the female occupant of the overturned vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the automobile accident. The victim’s boyfriend, Julio, was driving when one of the vehicles in the gun battle crashed into them.

According to a tweet from KCPD Chief Darryl Forté, Hernandez–Gonzales was ejected from the vehicle after the accident. The six children — four boys and two girls ranging in age from one and a half to 10-years-old — were transported to an area hospital with critical injuries, but are expected to recover.

Officers chased one of the suspected vehicles to an area near 18th Street and Jackson Avenue, where they apprehended one suspect after he lost control of his vehicle. The investigation is ongoing.

To help the family with rising medical bills, visit https://www.gofundme.com/db4b8dn8. Along with Gofundme account, people can donate money into a Bank of America account set-up for the family under the name Tomasa Salazar Moreno, Mariana’s mother.

Tomasa said the family is asking for God’s help during this difficult time. The family also wants anyone with information to come forward.

“We want justice because it is not fair that they took away the life of the mother of these children,” Tomasa said. “It’s not fair.”

Tomasa described her daughter as a nice person, friendly, who didn’t like problems. She was always very happy and got along with everyone.

“She liked to take her children to the park, in fact they were coming from the park when this tragedy happened,” Tomasa said. “he heard shots and wanted to go home and on the way back home this happened.”

Wednesday: Driver arrested after chase ends in Northeast

One person was arrested after a high speed chase ended near the Northeast Athletic Fields on Wednesday, Sept. 16. According to court documents, the car, a silver PT Cruiser, was stolen from a gas station near 45th Street and Cleveland Avenue. When police attempted to pull over the driver, the car sped around a police cruiser that tried to box it in, and drove off. An officer fired shots at the fleeing vehicle which gave chase throughout Kansas City, ending in the Northeast area.

According to court documents, the driver, Kameron R. Murray, 22, was charged with:

• First-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, a class C felony

• Resisting arrest and creating a substantial risk of serious injury/death to any person, class D felony

• Third-degree attempted assault, class A misdemeanor

• Second-degree property damage, class B misdemeanor

• Driving with a revoked or suspended license, misdemeanor

No other charges were mentioned in the court documents. The two passengers in the car with Murray were not charged.

Thursday: Suspicious death investigation after body found in Northeast

A suspicious death investigation turned into a homicide case after witnesses came forward with information on the shooting death of Tony Stark. According to the KCPD, at approximately 12:45 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 17, officers were called to the area of Sixth Street and Myrtle Avenue on an ambulance call. Upon arrival, officers were directed to the body of Stark, lying in the street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers conducted a door-to-door canvas, but neighbors indicated they did not hear or see anything.

Prosecutors have since charged Shawn A. Bell, 39, in the fatal shooting of Stark near Sixth Street and Myrtle Avenue in the Northeast. Bell has been charged with second degree murder, a class A felony, and armed criminal action, a felony.

Prosecutors have also updated charges against Lisa Marie Hall, 23, who shot and killed her five-year-old son on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015. Witnesses told police Hall and her boyfriend were drinking and fighting in a bedroom inside a residence along the 400 block of N. Elmwood Avenue. A gunshot was heard and the mother ran from the bedroom carrying the five-year-old child after he had been shot.

An amended complaint against Hall charges her with second-degree murder, a class A felony; first-degree domestic assault, a class B felony; unlawful use of a weapon, a class D felony; and two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, a class C felony. Hall was originally charged with unlawful use of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.