For Immediate Release
Aug. 25, 2020
A Jackson County judge has found a former security guard guilty of Murder 2nd Degree in the fatal shooting of Kevin Thomas outside the Yum Yum Bar and Grill on Kansas City’s Eastside, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.
The judge found Markell Pinkins, dob: 9/21/1995, guilty of Murder 2nd Degree. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20.
Pinkins was a security guard working at the Yum Yum Bar and Grill, located near 24th and Hardesty, when he and other guards responded to an incident involving the victim in a nearby vehicle. Pinkins told police at the scene that he fired at the victim three times after the victim revved the car’s engine, but video surveillance of the incident didn’t show the car moving aggressively toward the security guards.
Jackson County Assistant Prosecutors Ben Cox and Lauren Whiston prosecuted the case on behalf of the state of Missouri.
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
*Charges are only accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or has pleaded.