KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jackson County prosecutors filed murder charges Sunday against two suspects in the shooting death of a convenience store clerk on East 12th Street on Saturday.
Travis L. Knott, 19, and Clifford V. Jackson, 20, both of Kansas City, have been charged with second-degree murder and first degree-robbery in the case. Both are currently being held in the Kansas City jail on $250,000 bond.
Court documents indicate the man killed was Honduras native Wilfredo Melgar.
Melger and his brother were working in the store-front convenience store in the 3400 block of East 12th Street when Knott and Jackson allegedly entered around 11 a.m., demanding money at gunpoint. The man and his brother tried to chase the robbers from the store, during which Melgar was shot by the gunmen. He died shortly after reaching a hospital.
According to court documents, the suspects took $83 in cash, two cell phones and cigarettes. Jackson told detectives that he and Knott were walking and Knott told him he wanted to "pull a lick," or commit a robbery. Jackson claimed Knott said just to follow his lead and that Knott told Jackson to wear a Halloween mask that Knott owned.
After fleeing the store, the suspects said they hid on some stairs. "At the time, they observeed the store's owner drive through the alley in a van. After the van passed without seeing them, they observed the victim approaching them, walking west through the alley talking on a cellular telephone. Knott told Jackson, 'I'm going to shoot this dude.' According to Jackson, this was because the individual was on the phone with the police. Jackson told Knott not to do it, but Knott stepped out and shot the victim four times," according to court documents.
The documents go on to say, "Knott and Jackson ran away but soon the owner of the store came up behind them in the van. Knott shot at the van two times and the van crashed. Knott and Jackson then ran and hid in the basement where they were located by the police," the documents say.
