Killings in Kansas City, Kan., worry residents

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By ANDALE GROSS

Associated Press Writer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Bullet holes dot the front of a house where a 7-year-old girl was killed in a drive-by shooting, and flowers and candles line a street corner two miles away where a 15-year-old boy was gunned down days later.

The scenes are grim reminders of a deadly week that began June 22 and left nine people slain in Kansas City, Kan.

"It's on a downward spiral, and it ain't going to get no better," said Edward Harris, 47, who lives just blocks from the house where the 7-year-old was killed.

Harris and others see the killing spurt as just the latest wave of violence in a city that's grappled with crime for years. But police say violent crime has actually been steadily declining and that the slayings are not a true picture of overall crime in the community of 142,000 west of the larger Kansas City, Mo.

"Of course we're very concerned about each and every one of these homicides, especially the volume of having nine in about seven days," Deputy Police Chief Rick Armstrong said. "But if you look at this closely from a perspective of the last 10 years, our numbers have been low, and we think this is an anomaly."

On June 22, four people were found shot to death in a remote neighborhood on the city's outskirts, including a 3-year-old girl whose body was in the front yard. Adrian Burks, 37, was arrested the next day and faces four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the child, Juanita D. Castleberry-Bess; her 41-year-old mother, Peggy Castleberry; the homeowner, James Warren, 66; and Amanda Remmers, 21.

Prosecutors said Burks knew one of the victims well, but haven't said much about his possible motive for the killing.

On June 26, shots struck a house in the northeast part of the city, killing 7-year-old Laraya Wilson and wounding five others. The attack is unsolved.

That day, a clerk at a convenience store in the area fatally shot a man who police say tried to rob the business.

The next day, 32-year-old Tyrus Johnson was fatally shot outside a motorcycle club on the northeast side, and a police officer in the same section of the city fatally shot 39-year-old Christopher Utter after police say he tried to run the officer over during a traffic stop.

The last of the killings occurred June 29 when 15-year-old Edgar Carmona was killed on the street in a drive-by shooting, also on the northeast side.

The Johnson and Carmona slayings haven't been solved.

"I'm worried about all the shooting," said Harris, referring to the 7-year-old girl's slaying on his street and other recent incidents. "How can you feel safe?"

With the nine killings, the city's death toll is at 22, compared to just 14 killings this time last year. But even with the sudden spike, the violence is not on pace to be the most Kansas City, Kan., has seen this decade -- there were 65 killings in 2001.

Police records show a steady decline in violent crime in the city. Last year's 916 violent crimes, which include shootings and other crimes like assault and rape, were the fewest the city has seen in 22 years. Homicides in recent years have been low compared to earlier in the decade. There were 33 in 2008, and 25 in 2007.

Many of the recent killings occurred in the city's older and economically troubled northeast section, which has struggled with violent crime for years.

"We see some changes, but almost half of the calls for police service still come out of that area," Armstrong said.

The department already was working on ways to address violent crime in that area before the June slayings, with strategies including community policing and crime-trend tracking.

City leaders say public safety is an ongoing concern that they will continue to make a priority.

"The government and police alone can't solve the problem," said Edwin Birch, spokesman for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan. "The community has to get involved, too."

Despite the crime, Birch believes the city is experiencing an upswing, with recent years bringing major developments like the Kansas Speedway west of downtown. More projects -- maybe even a state-owned casino -- are on the way.

"It's a different city now, and the progress will continue," Birch said.