Suspect in Klymax Lounge shooting tied to scene by cellphone data, prosecutors say

A 36-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the May shooting at a Kansas City nightclub that left three people dead and two injured.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said the felony charges against 36-year-old Isiah Clinton come after he was accused of fatally shooting one of the three victims, according to charging documents.

The murder charge carried the possibility of life imprisonment, without the chance for parole, or the death penalty, court documents said.

Clinton has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of armed criminal action and two counts of first-degree assault, documents said.

The charges were revealed at a 10 a.m. press conference, where Baker appeared alongside Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves and Mayor Quinton Lucas.

Clinton was charged a few days ago, but those charges were under seal because he was not in custody, Baker said during the conference. He was arrested Thursday and remains in custody of the Jackson County jail on no bond.

Clinton is not believed to the only shooter and that he didn’t act alone, Baker said.

“We think he is the individual that we believe had the motive of committing this crime, help set it up, put it into motion and of course carried it out,” she said. “We do believe that there are others involved.”

Although the victims names were not listed in the charging documents, Baker identified the victims as Clarence “CJ” Henderson, who also went by the nickname “Nutty”, Antoinette “Libby” Brenson, and Jason McConnell, a security guard working the door at the club.

Two others, who have not been identified, were seriously injured in the shooting.

“It is really probably a bit of luck, maybe good medical care, quickness of law enforcement at the scene, that those two people are alive today,” Baker said. “But their injuries are severe and they have a very, very long road ahead of them and potentially, these will be lifelong injuries that they’re left to contend with.”

At the time of the shooting, Clinton was on parole for a federal weapons violation, Baker said.

Prosecutors believe Clinton laid in wait for Henderson and allegedly gunned him down as he exited the club, Baker said.

“We believe that this was all based on someone who had a dispute and decided they wanted to resolve it this way,” she said. “That’s what gets us to the highest possible charge of murder in the first degree. There is not a higher charge than that in the state of Missouri.”

There are additional suspects that police are working with the prosecutor’s office to identify and to hopefully bring charges against, said Sgt. Mark Slater, supervisor of the homicide squad.

Police received “a great deal of tips and community involvement in this particular case which was vital” to getting the charges filed, Slater said. He added that they hoped to have the rest of the suspects in custody shortly.

A police investigation revealed officers were dispatched on the morning of May 21 at 1:25 a.m. to 4242 Indiana Avenue.

The first victim was located on the sidewalk outside the lounge. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead at a nearby hospital.

Officers discovered the second victim by the front door of the lounge and declared him dead from a gunshot wound at the scene, documents said

The third victim was found inside the lounge by police and also declared dead due to gunshot wounds.

Two more victims discovered by officers were transported to the hospital in critical condition for gunshot-related injuries.

Shooting at Klymax Lounge

Detectives canvassed the scene and learned video surveillance from Sankofa Cafe, just north of the lounge, had captured the shooting, according to documents.

The tape allegedly showed one man getting out of a Chevy Impala in white pants and a gray hooded sweatshirt. He entered the lounge. Then left, jumping back into the Impala, which was in a parking lot at 4307 Indiana Avenue, about ten minutes later, documents said.

Three minutes later, a second person in a gray hooded sweatshirt and gray pants was allegedly seen leaving the Impala and walking to the front door of the lounge.

He stood there for another three minutes, and at one point lifted his hand “like he is shooting a gun,” documents said.

After two minutes the first victim was alleged to have walked out of the lounge and the person waiting near the front door ran at them, shooting them multiple times.

Another victim, who was left in critical condition, tried to run away but allegedly fell in the middle of Indiana Ave. The person who had been waiting near the front door then ran after him and started kicking him as he was on the ground, documents said.

The person then ran back to the Impala, along with another person in a black hooded jacket and white pants, who had been inside the lounge, documents said.

More surveillance of the Indiana Avenue parking lot was allegedly obtained by police. The video showed the Impala arriving at 12:59 a.m. Police estimated the suspects had been at the lounge for 25 minutes before the shooting call was received by officers at 1:25 a.m.

The lounge had been holding a birthday party at the time of the shooting, documents said.

The following day police interviewed the victim who had been kicked in the middle of Indiana Avenue and left in critical condition. He allegedly did not know the suspects.

Police said they later recognized an Impala with similar distinguishing features while on patrol near 35th and Prospect Ave. They arrested Clinton, who was driving, for operating the vehicle with a suspended license.

Phone data used in investigation

After reviewing evidence from the shooting, officers requested a Geofence warrant to locate whether Clinton’s cell phone had been in the parking lot and lounge area early on May 21, documents said.

“That cellular device gave us a lot of evidence on communication and possible motive,” said Detective Ryan Taylor, with the Kansas City Police Department. “

Text conversations related to Clinton’s phone number revealed a message had been sent around 12:53 a.m. that said: “Omm [On my mother] we handle this tonight delete this.”

At 1:31 a.m. a follow-up message said: “It’s over with brody.”

On June 26, results from the Geofence warrant allegedly confirmed the phone number located near the lounge at the time of the shooting matched the phone number and home address associated with Clinton.

During the news conference, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves clarified that someone had called 911 at 1:08 a.m. the day of the shooting to report a suspicious vehicle.

At that time, however, officers were being dispatched on calls that involved immediate threat or danger to someone’s life, she said. At 1:25 a.m., police received a call reporting the shooting and officers were on scene within a minute.

“I just wanted to clear that up to address those concerns that were initially brought up and just to kind of give them the factual information on that,” she said.

Police believe that there are still others who were involved in the shooting and they asked for anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered through Crimestoppers for information leading to an arrest.

The charges announced Friday were the result of diligent police work that could not have been done without the help of members of the community, Mayor Quinton Lucas said, adding that community trust helps solves crime every day in Kansas City.

Lucas said he was grateful for the hard work by law enforcement officials as well as for the those who provided the tips and tools that were necessary to bring the charges.

“To all those who are causing bad acts in our city: First of all, know that you will be caught. That you will be tried. You will be convicted and that justice will be met here in Kansas City,” Lucas said.