CNN – Two Missouri men already facing charges in the mysterious case of three friends found dead outside a Kansas City home after watching a Chiefs football game last year could have some charges upgraded to include three counts of second degree murder, court documents show.
Clayton McGeeney, 36, Ricky Johnson, 38, and David Harrington, 37, were discovered outside of Jordan Willis’ Platte County home, north of Kansas City, around 10 p.m. on January 9, 2024, two days after the men watched the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers.
All three men died of fentanyl and cocaine combined toxicity, a doctor with Forensic Medical of Kansas determined in March, according to Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd.
Willis and Ivory J. Carson were both charged with a single count of delivery of a controlled substance and three counts of involuntary manslaughter for “recklessly causing the deaths” of the three men, Zahnd said at the time.
Both men entered not guilty pleas to the initial charges, an online court docket shows.
Prosecutors are asking a judge to upgrade the three involuntary manslaughter charges to murder in the second degree, according to an amended complaint. The judge can either approve the request for upgraded charges or deny it.
Each charge is a class A felony and carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison or life imprisonment, according to the complaint.
“While not unexpected, we are greatly disappointed in the upgraded charges. Jordan has maintained his innocence since day one and he declined the Government’s plea offer,” Willis’ attorney, John Picerno, said in a statement Sunday.
“Missouri’s Felony Murder Statute is overly broad, often misused, and excessive,” Picerno said. “It should never be used in this manner. We are very much looking forward [to] challenging these charges in open court before a fair and impartial jury.”
An attorney for Carson did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment Monday.
CNN has reached out to the Platte County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for more information regarding the decision to upgrade the codefendants’ charges.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Thursday, July 24 at 9 a.m., an online court docket shows.
