For Immediate Release
April 11, 2018
David Jungerman has been charged in the October 2017 fatal shooting of Kansas City lawyer Thomas Pickert on his front walk, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.
David G. Jungerman, dob: 3/03/1938, faces Murder 1st Degree and Armed Criminal Action.*
According to court records, KCPD officers responded at about 8:07 a.m. on Oct. 25, 2017, to a Kansas City residence. They found the victim’s body on the front walk. He had been shot once by a .17 caliber bullet. Before the shooting, the victim had obtained a jury verdict in the amount of $5.75 million against David Jungerman, of Raytown on behalf of his client. The day before the murder, Jungerman was served property liens by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
A white van was tracked traveling from near Raytown to the victim’s neighborhood, according to court records. The defendant owns a white van and told the media that no one used his van that day and that he had the only key to that van. A witness – a man walking his dog -- told police that he saw an older white man with grey hair standing behind an idling white van. The man then parked the van directly across from the victim’s house. The witness also stated the man wore khaki pants and a tan jacket darker than the pants.
The fatal bullet, according to court records, was identified as a .17 caliber round, a relatively rare caliber. On March 8, 2018, a search warrant was obtained for the defendant’s car. Under the passenger seat an unspent .17 caliber bullet was located. A witness told police that he had a conversation with Jungerman in March 2018. During that conversation, Jungerman stated he had killed a lawyer with a gun and gotten away with it. He did it because the lawyer stole his money.
Recently, police executed search warrants, according to court records, at the defendant’s home and business. At his business, police found a print out from the Jackson County property tax database. It showed the victim’s home address. An Olympus audio recorder with a recording was recovered. The first part of the recording captured a court hearing that the defendant attended in November 2017. But after the hearing, the recorder continued to run. Later, the defendant talked to his employee about a .17 caliber rifle and about killing the victim.
Prosecutors requested that Jungerman continue to be held on no bond.
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.