For Immediate Release

Jan 10, 2018

Kansas City man, 52, faces Murder 1st Degree, other charges in connection with the Jan. 4, 2018, fatal shooting of Thomas J. Rice III, who was the first homicide victim of 2018 in Kansas City, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.

Aasim I. Karim, dob: 8/30/1965, faces Murder 1st Degree and Armed Criminal Action charges.*

According to court records filed today, the victim was found outside the driver's door of his vehicle on the roadway near U.S. 40 Highway and Manchester Avenue in Kansas City. He had been shot and a spent shell was found nearby. Witnesses told police a neighbor of the victim had been firing a handgun in his yard. They also described his vehicle. Police also learned that the victim had been inquiring about the victim's whereabouts the day before the homicide. The defendant had recently threatened to shoot the victim, according to the witness. Video surveillance of the crime scene showed the victim's vehicle followed soon after by a vehicle that looked like the vehicle known to be driven by the defendant. A search of the defendant's residence found shell casings at the residence that came from the same firearm used at the crime scene.

Prosecutors requested a bond of $250,000.

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

mmansur@jacksongov.org

http://jacksoncountyprosecutor.com