KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Johnson County District Court judge released new information Wednesday in connection to the shot fired incident earlier this month at Oak Park Mall.
The affidavit was released as part of criminal charges filed against Nery Alberto Gonzalez-Munoz, who faces several felony charges related to the Sunday, Nov. 12, incident in the food court at the Overland Park mall.
According to court documents, plain clothed officers from the Overland Park Police department were conducting a “retail crime enforcement operation” at the mall when, around 4:15 p.m., loss prevention officers at Macy’s notified officers of two suspects concealing merchandise in a white shopping bag.
Surveillance video captured the two suspects leaving the store without paying for the merchandise. Once out of the store, the pair attempted to leave through an exit near the mall’s food court.
Two Overland Park officers confronted Gonzalez-Munoz in the busy food court. The court document alleges Gonzalez-Munoz resisted the officers, with the three men entering into a struggle on the ground.
During the struggle, Gonzalez-Munoz allegedly removed the duty weapon from the holster of one of the officers and the trio started to wrestle for control of the weapon. As the struggle continued, Gonzalez-Munoz was allegedly able to fire one shot.
Detectives later located the round in the leg of a chair in the food court. A review of surveillance video revealed a girl between the ages of 5 and 7 was sitting in the chair less than 10 seconds before it was struck by the bullet.
The officer was eventually able to recover his firearm, but not until Gonzalez-Munoz was able to escape the officers. They eventually caught him in the entryway of the mall’s food court and again struggled to bring the suspect into custody.
For the next five minutes, Gonzalez-Munoz allegedly continued to resist the pair of officers until additional officers and civilians arrived to take him into custody. During the second struggle, a weapon carried by Gonzalez-Munoz also fell out of its holster, though no shots were fired from this weapon.
One of the responding officers reported scrapes and soreness from the altercation. The other officer alleged the suspect bit him on the shoulder. That officer also reported soreness and a scratch on his stomach.
As officers brought Gonzalez-Munoz into custody, a detective with the Overland Park Police Department attempted to bring the second suspect into custody. The suspect fled the mall on foot and tried to blend into the crowd as the mall was evacuated due to the incident. That detective waited for backup before eventually taking the second suspect into custody.
Police valued the stolen merchandise as $477.50 worth of Polo-branded clothing.
Gonzalez-Munoz declined to provide a statement after his arrest. He remains in custody at the Johnson County Adult Detention Center on a $1 million bond. Should he post bond, one of his conditions is that he is not allowed to enter any retail store.
Gonzelez-Munoz appeared in court Wednesday, where the defense asked for a continuance. He’s set to return to court in January.
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