A Kansas prosecutor has charged prosecutors with the murder of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, whose death led to the establishment of the Department of Justice’s Operation Legend.
Ryson Ellis, 22, faces criminal charges of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed crime, Jackson County President Jean Peters Baker announced Thursday during a press conference in downtown Kansas City. .
He is being held at the Tulsa County Jail in Oklahoma, KSHB reported.
4-year-old LeGend Taliferro was fatally shot earlier this summer in an apartment in Kansas City.
(FBI)
Taliferro was killed by gunfire while sleeping on the floor of a unit at Citadel Apartments in Kansas City on June 29, the Kansas City Star reported.
A woman identified as LeGend’s father’s sister was in the apartment at the time of the shooting, said a statement of probable cause from KCPD. She told police that Ellis, with whom she has a child, attacked her a few days before the shooting, KSHB reported.
After the alleged attack, Mrs. Ellis’ brothers confronted at his residence. An altercation left Ellis wounded and his mother threatened the brothers with a gun, KSHB reported.
Taliferro’s death this summer was part of an uprising of violent crime, Attorney General Bill Barr said in a statement. The death of the child led to the Justice Department launching ‘Operation Legend’, which sends hundreds of law enforcement officials to cities around the country to work with state and local law to remove violent criminals from the streets.
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“Today’s arrest of the suspected killer of LeGend Taliferro marks an important step forward in his case and illustrates the potential of Operation Legend broadly,” Barr said.
Kansas City police officers worked with the FBI and U.S. Marshals in the investigation and the investigation is a model for joint efforts to solve crimes and reduce violence in other cities, Barr said.
President Donald Trump holds a photo of LeGend Taliferro as he speaks at a news conference at the James Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House, August 13, in Washington.
(AP)
LeGend’s mother, Charron Powell, who appeared with a family at a news conference Thursday, said she was grateful to be on the steps for justice, but despite the arrest, the family, and Ellis, still lost.
“We need to take it a step further and calm the violence,” she said.
Operation Legend has been recognized with several arrests. President Trump met with the Taliferro family during the launch and expansion of the initiative, which is overseen by the Justice Department
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“Although the suspected killer of LeGend has been arrested, Operation Legend will continue,” Barr said in his statement. “Inspired by this success, federal law enforcement will work sustainably to support state and local partners in our shared mission to keep the American people safe and uphold the rule of law.”
