A 34-year-old man is facing three felony charges for allegedly firing a volley of gunshots at a home in Kansas City’s Foxtown East neighborhood, narrowly missing a 2-year-old boy who was sitting in a high chair.
Jackson County prosecutors last week charged Jerod W. Brillhart, of Raytown, with illegal use of a weapon, felony armed felony and endangering the welfare of a child.
The shooting took place around 9 a.m. on January 22. Kansas City Police officers were dispatched to a residence on the 3800 block of East 67th Terrace following reports of gunfire.
After arriving at the scene, the police officers were met by a woman who said she was feeding her son and left him unattended in the kitchen high chair for a moment to get him clean clothes. She then heard about five shots, she said, as she ran to the kitchen to carry her son into a back room.
Later, she said, she found bullet damage to the bathroom door and living room ceiling.
Detectives spoke to witnesses, including a man who had gone out that morning to pour salt to loosen snow on the ground. Investigators were told of a white Jeep that was seen driving down the block at the time of the shooting.
Surveillance cameras led police to a rental car in Brillhart and her mother’s name. He was towed from a Raytown driveway where he resided, according to court documents.
Brillhart was not initially a suspect in the shooting, according to court documents. But another witness later came forward to police saying Brillhart had described the shooting to her. According to court documents, he was also contacted by the witness on speakerphone and discussed the shooting in the presence of investigators.
In the prosecution documents, investigators wrote that a witness told them Brillhart may have been hired by someone to shoot with intent to kill another resident of the house.
On February 7, Brillhart sat down with detectives at Kansas City Police Headquarters for an interview. He allegedly admitted to renting the white Jeep that police suspected was involved in the shooting, but he denied being involved in the shooting.
As of Tuesday, court documents have not listed a defense attorney for Brillhart. He was being held in the Jackson County Jail.
