KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man faces 13 felony charges after a violent rampage on Wednesday that included shooting at Kansas City, Missouri, police officers, stealing a car, and leading officers on a high-speed chase.
Jason Keith, 35, is accused of five counts of armed criminal action, vehicle hijacking, two counts of aggravated fleeing a stop or detention, four counts of first-degree assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The crime spree began at about 8:40 a.m. when Keith threatened to kill a car dealership employee who got out of a 2018 Nissan Rogue after backing it out of a repair shop.
Keith allegedly said, "I don't want to kill you, man. Just give me the key fob," according to a court document.
Keith raised a bundle of hoodies he was carrying and the employee saw a rifle sticking out of one of the sleeves of a hoodie.
He took the key fob and drove away in the car.
Officers were looking for the stolen car about an hour later when they spotted it at a gas station in Kansas City, Missouri.
Keith allegedly sped away from the officers and led them on a car chase that ended when officers stopped chasing the car because of snowy road conditions, the court document states.
An officer at an off-duty job at about 4 p.m. that day saw Keith get out of the stolen car near East Ninth Street and Van Brunt Boulevard wearing a hoodie with the hood up and carrying a long and skinny item covered with blankets or cloth.
The off-duty officer recognized Keith and the stolen car because of information he learned while at his on-duty job at the police department.
He directed uniformed, on-duty officers to where Keith was walking.
An officer told Keith to stop walking, but Keith began reaching into a bag and walked to the south side of a building.
He fired two shots at officers and a patrol car and ran back to the stolen Nissan Rogue.
Officers fired at the car, but Keith drove away and led police on a high-speed chase on westbound Interstate 70 near downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
The chase ended when a tactical response officer used a maneuver to stop the car.
Keith refused to get out of the car. Officers fired bean bag rounds into the car and Keith surrendered.
Officers found the rifle, stolen in January from a Kansas City, Kansas, store, in the front passenger seat of the car.
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