For Immediate Release
Oct. 9, 2021
Two Kansas City men each face seven felony counts, including Murder 1st Degree, in connection with fatal shootings in March 2021 of two men inside a vehicle on Norton Avenue in KC, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.
Earl L. Dunn III, dob: 9/19/2001, and Vontez G. Howard, dob: 11/11/1996, face the following charges: two counts of Murder 1st Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Robbery 1st Degree and four counts of Armed Criminal Action.*
According to court records, Kansas City police responded March 1, 2021, on a reported shooting in the area of Norton Avenue and Anderson. Victims Kyle Gerhardt and Kristopher Lunsford-Barrett were found in a vehicle. The victims were suffering from gunshot wounds. The vehicle also had caught fire following a crash. Kansas City detectives initiated an extensive investigation, analyzing area video, phones, DNA evidence and ballistics. They tracked a suspect vehicle and established connections between the defendants and victims near the time of the fatal shootings. Video surveillance showed how the defendants pursued the victims until the victim's vehicle crashed.
Prosecutors requested $500,000 cash bonds.
For more information, contact:
Michael Mansur
Director of Communication
Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office
Jean Peters Baker, Prosecutor
Work : (816) 881-3812
Mobile : (816) 674-3954
www.jacksoncounyprosecutor.com
mmansur@jacksongov.org
*Charges are only accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or has pleaded.