On March 20, 2017, police in Kansas City, Missouri, were called to a chaotic scene near Blue Parkway and Bennington Avenue that resulted in the death of 37-year-old female Shakeisha D. Urassa. Officers discovered a blue minivan that had careened off the road and crashed into a wooded ditch. Inside the vehicle, they found Shakeisha and another victim, 33-year-old Marquis Clark, both suffering from fatal gunshot wounds.
A third occupant had also been shot in the abdomen but managed to flee the crashed van and run to a nearby hotel to summon help, alerting authorities that there were others still inside the vehicle who had been killed.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly took a bizarre turn when officers patrolling the area encountered a man nearby who was completely nude, wearing only socks. The man, identified as Robert Jerell Townsend, appeared to be under the influence of PCP, exhibiting erratic behavior such as balling his fists and flexing his muscles at the approaching officers. Townsend admitted to investigators that he had been a passenger in the minivan with the victims. He claimed he had fled the vehicle and discarded a firearm in some bushes, though he initially alleged he fired his weapon only after hearing other shots.
Witness statements provided a more detailed narrative of the events leading up to the violence. Passengers in the van reported that the group had been riding together when Townsend and Clark began a freestyle rap battle. The friendly competition escalated into an argument, culminating in Clark slapping Townsend’s hand. According to the surviving witnesses, Townsend then produced a handgun and opened fire inside the crowded minivan. The driver lost control, sending the vehicle into the ditch. Townsend’s mother later contacted the homicide unit to inquire if her son was among the victims, confirming he had been in a blue van and providing a description that matched the nude suspect taken into custody.
Prosecutors in Jackson County charged Robert Jerell Townsend with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, and three counts of armed criminal action in connection with the deaths of Shakeisha Urassa and Marquis Clark. The charging documents noted that there was no evidence to support Townsend's claim that shots were fired into the van from the outside, pointing instead to the dispute over the rap battle as the precipitating factor in the deadly shooting.
