For Immediate Release
Sept. 6, 2023
A Kansas City, Kan., man has been charged in connection with the Aug. 3, 2023, fatal shooting of a man outside a motel on 40 Highway in Independence, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.
Charles J. White faces Murder 1st Degree and Armed Criminal Action charges.*
According to court records filed today, Independence Police Department officers responded to the area of 9800 E US 40 Highway on a report of shots fired in the area. They found a victim on his back in the parking lot of a motel. An autopsy later showed he had been shot once in the back. A witness told police the victim was outside the motel. Video surveillance showed the defendant walking toward a room and knocking on the door and later is observed walking around and talking on his cell phone. He is later shown getting out of a vehicle and firing a rifle at the victim. The victim falls to the ground. The defendant soon leaves the homicide scene. A detective obtained cell phone data that showed the defendant's device receiving data in the area of and at the time of the homicide.
The defendant is in custody.
For more information, contact
Michael Mansur
Director of Communication
Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office
Jean Peters Baker, Prosecutor
(816) 881-3812
(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 pleads guilty.