Missouri: 3 Kansas City Police Officers Shot While Executing Search Warrant
An 18-hour standoff at a Missouri home that followed the shooting of three Kansas City police officers is over, and a body was found inside the suspected drug house.
According to Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Bill Lowe, a SWAT team entered the house around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and discovered a man's body and an unharmed woman, who was taken into custody, together with two others who surrendered from the home hours earlier.
With help from Federal Bureau of Investigation SWAT members, the Kansas City police's SWAT team secured the house Wednesday night. One of those who turned himself in was 50-year-old Jimmie Lewis Jr.
He was charged with meth-dealing and two other federal counts Wednesday that stemmed from a November 2021 police pursuit, the Associated Press reported. However, Lowe said no charges were immediately filed in connection with the shooting. Authorities have yet to release the two suspects' names.
The dead man's identification and cause of death were also not released, pending an autopsy and notification of his family. Lewis surrendered late Tuesday, while the other suspect was early Wednesday.
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Kansas City Police Officers Are in Good Condition
The three Kansas City police officers were hospitalized after being shot while executing a search warrant on Tuesday night. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said the cops were part of a tactical response team executing the warrant at the house at around 9:30 p.m.
The Jackson County Drug Task Force, which works with federal agencies, reportedly asked for the assistance of the Kansas City SWAT team to serve the search warrant. Graves noted that the injuries sustained by police officers were not life-threatening, and they could still talk from their hospital beds, CNN reported.
"That's the best situation under these circumstances that I could hope for... That our officers are alert, they're awake and they're talking," Graves said.
Graves noted that the police officers had announced that they were police before trying to enter the house. However, she said they were met with gunfire when they attempted to breach the door.
The chief noted that officers shot back, but it is not clear how many shots were fired or if they hit anyone inside the home. It was also unclear who fired the shots that injured the police officers. A standoff then followed around the house that lasted for hours. An investigation is still ongoing.
Kansas City Man Has Federal Charges Unrelated to Standoff
According to the Associated Press, Jimmie Lewis Jr. was previously charged with one count each of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a gun.
An affidavit filed against Lewis in an unrelated case showed he fled from Independence City police on November 7, 2021, after he was seen driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck that matched the description of a stolen vehicle.
The affidavit said Lewis was arrested after his vehicle struck a curb and flattened a tire before he fled on foot. Police seized from him a loaded handgun, nine plastic bags filled with methamphetamine, and $2,084 cash after he was apprehended. The affidavit noted that more meth was found under the truck's passenger seat.
Fox 4 reported that Lewis was never charged with a crime despite being caught in November 2021, but the reason is unknown. In a press release, federal prosecutors said Lewis has multiple prior felony convictions. He is now in federal custody pending a detention hearing on March 6.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: Standoff Ends After SWAT Teams Enter Home, Man Found Dead - From FOX4 News Kansas City
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