For Immediate Release
June 23, 2025
Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson today announced a Kansas City man has been charged with two misdemeanors for allegedly discharging a firearm into the air at an intersection during a shooting over the weekend.
Leonard Holman Jr. faces Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm – 1st Offense and Resisting/Interfering with Arrest, Detention Or Stop. *
According to court records, Kansas City police were conducting an area presence near the intersection of East 19th Street and Paseo Boulevard on June 22 when multiple people began to run from the defendant who was holding a firearm. Officers observed the defendant discharge multiple rounds from his firearm into the air. When officers gave the defendant verbal commands to drop the firearm and get down on the ground, the defendant fled the scene on foot. He was eventually taken into custody and told police he was shooting in the air to protect himself.
Detectives reviewed city traffic cameras and observed the defendant retrieve his firearm from his waist band and discharge it in the air multiple times.
The investigation into the fatal shooting that occurred on East 19th and Vine Street is ongoing.
The defendant is being held on a $10,000 bond.
*Charges are only accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the defendant is either found guilty or pleads guilty.
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Media Contact:
Jazzlyn Johnson
Director of Communications
Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office
415 E 12th Street
Kansas City, MO - 64106
(816) 929-1289
jazzlyn.johnson@jacksongov.org
https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com