KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man is facing multiple charges in connection with a fatal stabbing that occurred on Monday near East 30th Street and Mersington Avenue, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.
Leon J. Reese, 54, faces 2nd Degree Murder, two counts of Armed Criminal Action, and Tampering with a Witness.
According to court records, Kansas City police were dispatched near the 3000 block of Mersington Avenue on March 31 and located Kansas City Fire Department personnel rendering aid to the victim who was suffering from stab wounds to his stomach and abdomen. The victim was declared deceased.
Based on witness statements, Reese and the victim became involved in a verbal altercation, which escalated as the defendant approached the victim with a knife and stabbed him.
The next day, as detectives were collecting surveillance footage of the incident around the crime scene, they found Reese standing over a witness with a knife. Detectives gave verbal commands to drop the knife, and the Reese threw the knife in the direction of detectives who were then able to take him into custody. Reese is being held with no bond.