KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 38-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, man was charged with six felonies, including murder, in connection with the July 22 shooting of Lodillar Styles.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Sunday that Jonathan L. Bradford has been charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with a motor vehicle, abandonment of a corpse and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to a KCPD probable cause statement, officers responded to a reported shooting shortly before 7 p.m. near East 40th Street and Tracy Avenue.
Styles, Bradford and a female witness were riding in Styles’ pickup truck. Styles drove Bradford to the intersection where his body was later found.
As Bradford tried to exit the vehicle from the rear passenger side near East 40th Street and Tracy Avenue, the child locks were engaged, so the door wouldn’t open.
Styles told Bradford to roll down the window and use the outside handle to open the door. After replying, “OK,” Bradford instead shot Styles in the head then pushed his foot down on the gas pedal, causing the truck to crash into a van parked in the area.
Bradford then pulled Styles’ body from the truck, ran him over and pinned a bystander who had arrived to help between two vehicles before driving away in the truck, according to witnesses.
Bradford was arrested Saturday after a brief foot chase when he fled a parked vehicle in the area of Cypress Avenue and Tower Road. A gun, which detectives do not think was related to the homicide, was found in the passenger seat of the vehicle.
Prosecutors have requested a $300,000 bond for Bradford.
—
For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the 41 Action News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015.
