Independence man facing death penalty for fatal shooting during eviction gets new attorney

Nathan Pilling
·2 min read
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The Independence man accused of fatally shooting a police officer and court worker during an eviction at his home in February has a new public defender who will handle his case.

Prosecutors announced in May they were seeking the death penalty for Larry Acree, 70, who faces 18 felony charges in the shooting that killed Independence police officer Cody Allen and Jackson County civil process server Drexel Mack on Feb. 29.

Amy Thompson, a public defender qualified to handle capital cases, filed with Jackson County Circuit Court to represent Acree Wednesday. In a brief hearing at the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse in Independence Wednesday, Thompson said she had just met Acree Tuesday and requested Judge Megan Benton, of Platte County, set a status hearing in the case in the coming months.

Thompson said she planned to continue organizing Acree’s defense in the meantime, and Benton scheduled a hearing for Sept. 3.

Thompson said it was typical for capital cases to take about two years to get to trial and anticipated Acree’s trial would run for six to eight weeks. Assistant prosecuting attorney Jeremy Baldwin estimated it would take around 18 months to get to trial.

Acree appeared in court in person in an orange jail jumpsuit during Wednesday’s hearing. Because of news coverage of the case, Thompson said she would be filing a motion to request that Acree be allowed to wear civilian clothes anytime media were present.

Amy Thompson, a public defender, talks with her client, Larry Acree, during a court hearing Wednesday at the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse in Independence. It was Acree’s first court appearance since prosecutors announced they will seek the death penalty for Acree, who is accused of fatally shooting Independence police officer Cody Allen and process server Drexel Mack during an eviction on Feb. 29. Tammy Ljungblad/Tljungblad@kcstar.com

Thompson declined to comment following Wednesday’s hearing.

In a court filing this week, prosecutors noted they had disclosed a swath of evidence to Acree’s attorneys, including crime scene photographs, investigative documents, an interview with Acree, interviews with witnesses, credit bureau subpoena documents and responses, photos of a window, animal bones and a tax form, and financial institution subpoenas.

The shooting occurred as Mack and two other people arrived at Acree’s home in northeast Independence to carry out an eviction. Acree had lost his home over back taxes, court records show.

Gunfire erupted from inside the home, and Mack was struck. As three Independence police officers responded to the shooting, one of them, Allen, was also fatally shot. Two other officers were hurt before Acree was arrested.

Acree faces two counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of first-degree assault and nine counts of armed criminal action. He remains in the Jackson County jail on a $2 million cash bond.

The Star’s Robert Cronkleton contributed reporting to this story.