In the early morning hours of November 30, 2015, a young man named Walter Merle Pollard Jr. was found shot to death on the front porch of a residence in the 2300 block of Hardesty Avenue on Kansas City's east side. Pollard, a 21-year-old male from Sugar Creek, Missouri, was discovered by police officers who were responding to a call about a shooting at approximately 1:15 a.m.
He showed no signs of life when he was found.
The investigation into Pollard's death revealed that he had arranged to meet an individual for a drug transaction. According to court records, what was supposed to be a drug deal quickly escalated into a fatal robbery. Witnesses stated that when Pollard produced his money to make the purchase, two other men who were with the seller drew their guns and demanded his money. In response, Pollard reportedly reached for his own firearm and was shot multiple times. After the shooting, his cellphone and money were taken.
The subsequent police investigation led to the arrests of three men in connection with the homicide. The first to be charged was Joshua Lee, then 24 years old. Lee admitted to police that he had arranged the drug deal with Pollard and that others involved had shot him. He also confessed to taking Pollard's cellphone and money after the murder and attempting to destroy the phone to erase their communications. Lee was charged with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and attempted robbery.
More than a year later, in December 2016, two more suspects were charged in Pollard's death: Dayquan Bowman, 20, and Rodney J. Mitchell, 19. They both faced charges of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and two counts of armed criminal action. Prosecutors requested a bond of $250,000 for each of them. Known by his loved ones as a kind-hearted and loyal person, Walter Pollard was a father to a young daughter named Leelou Marie.
