An Independence man has been charged with murder in the death of a 19-year-old man found in a car near Interstate 435 on Sunday.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has charged Steven B. Rock with Preston Bell’s 19-year-old death.
According to court records released Friday, camera footage showed Bell’s vehicle at a home when three suspects approached it. One suspect, later identified as Rock, can be seen on camera running around the back of the vehicle, opening the driver’s side door, and taking out someone who isn’t moving.
Rock then places the victim in the backseat of the car, gets into it, and drives away.
On Sunday afternoon, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department responded to a call at I-435 and Truman Road. They found Bell inside the car with a gunshot wound. The site declared him dead.
According to court filings, authorities informed Rock that all parties involved in the deadly gunshot will face charges. During a phone call from the jail, Rock stated, “The others don’t deserve that. It’s me.
The prosecutor’s office has asked for a $250,000 bond for Rock, who is charged with one crime of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal conduct, and one count of abandoning a corpse.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has brought charges for abandoning a corpse against a second defendant in the case.
