By Kendrick Calfee, Nathan Pilling - The Kansas City Star (TNS)
More than a year after police found three men dead outside a home in Kansas City’s Northland, two men have been charged with drug distribution and manslaughter in connection with their deaths.
The three men died of “fentanyl and cocaine toxicity,” officials said Wednesday.
Prosecutors charged Jordan R. Willis, 39, and Ivory J. Carson, 42, Wednesday with counts of delivering a controlled substance and three counts of involuntary manslaughter in Platte County, Missouri, Circuit Court.
“This case is a tragic reminder of the dangers of street drugs,” Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said in a press conference Wednesday. “But make no mistake, the people who supply those drugs can and will be held accountable when people overdose.”
Ricky Johnson, 38, David Harrington, 37, and Clayton McGeeney, 36, went to watch a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers at the Northland home of their friend, Willis, on Jan. 7, 2024.
Their bodies were discovered two days later, when McGeeney’s fiancée broke into the basement of the home in the 5200 block of Northwest 83rd Terrace in Platte County. She called police when she found a body on the back porch.
Officers with the Kansas City Police Department arrived and found two other men dead in the backyard. No one had heard from the three men after that night they met to watch the game, loved ones previously told The Star.
Zahnd acknowledged how long the investigation had taken before charges were filed but declined to explain the wait further, pointing only to the complex nature of the case.
“I will tell you it takes time to bring these cases,” he said. “There were additional investigative things that had to be wrapped up before this case could be brought.”
Zahnd said Carson was in custody at the Platte County Jail on a $100,000 bond and said his office had been told Willis would surrender and post a $100,000 bond.
In a statement sent to The Star, Willis’ attorney, John Picerno, said, “We are surprised that Jordan was charged with the deaths of his three friends. That was contrary to what the prosecuting attorney’s office told me several months ago. The probable cause statement submitted by the state is consistent with what Jordan stated happened.
“Jordan maintains that he is not responsible for purchasing or supplying the drugs that led to the deaths of his three friends. We are very much looking forward to the day a jury gets to hear all of the evidence in this case.”
Court records did not list an attorney for Carson as of Wednesday afternoon.
Throughout the investigation, Picerno claimed Willis knew nothing about the men’s deaths.
Picerno told the Star in December 2024 that he had soon expected charges to be filed in the case. At the time, Picerno said prosecutors indicated they were looking into others who may have supplied drugs that the three men took.