The early morning hours of September 20, 2015, turned tragic at Bob's N Motion, a bar and nightclub located near 57th Street and Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. Working security that night was 46-year-old male Royce Jeffries, a former Oklahoma State basketball player known to his colleagues as a 'gentle giant' who preferred de-escalating conflicts with words rather than force.
Standing 6 feet 6 inches tall, Jeffries was a familiar presence at the venue, where he had worked for approximately a year. Around 12:30 a.m., a physical altercation broke out inside the club involving several patrons. Jeffries and another security guard intervened, separating the individuals involved and escorting a group of men out of the establishment to ensure the safety of the other guests.
Shortly after the ejection, the situation escalated violently. Witnesses and investigators reported that one of the men involved in the earlier fight returned to the front entrance of the bar. The assailant did not re-enter but instead thrust a handgun through the open front door and fired nearly a dozen rounds indiscriminately into the crowded venue. Jeffries, who was standing near the entrance with his back to the door, was struck by the gunfire. He sustained fatal injuries and died from his wounds. Two other individuals—a second security guard and a female patron—were also struck by bullets during the barrage but survived their injuries. The shooter fled the scene immediately after the attack, disappearing into the night before law enforcement arrived.
Police investigations led to the arrest of 45-year-old Carlton Glynn in December 2015. Glynn had been at the bar that night attending a birthday party and was among the group Jeffries had ejected earlier. Prosecutors charged Glynn with first-degree murder, two counts of assault, and three counts of armed criminal action, alleging he was the gunman who returned to seek retaliation. The case went to trial in 2017, where the prosecution presented surveillance video and testimony from witnesses who identified Glynn. However, the defense vehemently argued that Glynn was a victim of mistaken identity. His attorney contended that while Glynn was present and had been removed from the bar, the surveillance footage showed he was not the shooter. The defense claimed the actual gunman appeared in the video just seconds after Glynn was seen elsewhere, firing the weapon through the door before vanishing.
After approximately 11 hours of deliberation, a Jackson County jury found Carlton Glynn not guilty on all counts. The acquittal meant that no one was legally held responsible for Jeffries' death, and Glynn was released. Following the verdict, the Kansas City Police Department stated that the investigation remained open and that detectives were looking at more than one suspect. Despite the presence of multiple witnesses and video evidence, the case has not resulted in a conviction, leaving the murder of the former collegiate athlete unsolved in the eyes of the law.
