On July 26, 2015, a summer birthday celebration in the Northeast area of Kansas City, Missouri, turned into a scene of violence that claimed the lives of two men. Family and friends had gathered at a residence near the intersection of Thompson and Colorado avenues for the occasion. Shortly after midnight on that Sunday morning, an altercation disrupted the festivities in the 400 block of Colorado Avenue, escalating quickly into gunfire.
Omero Garcia, a 39-year-old male, was one of the
individuals struck when the shooting began. He was attending the party alongside other guests when the festive atmosphere was shattered. Another attendee, 31-year-old Antonio Hernandez, was also fatally wounded during the chaotic event. Authorities reported that five people in total were shot during the incident. One of the victims died at the scene, while the other succumbed to their injuries after being transported to a local hospital. Two other victims survived their gunshot wounds.
Investigators eventually identified a suspect in the double homicide as 42-year-old Jose L. Yepes-Zavala, also known to witnesses as 'Yepes.' According to police reports, witnesses at the party stated that the shooting followed a dispute and identified Yepes-Zavala as the gunman. Following the investigation, Jackson County prosecutors charged him with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, two counts of assault, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.
despite the severe charges, the suspect managed to evade immediate capture. By December 2016, federal authorities revealed that investigators believed Yepes-Zavala had fled the country. Court documents indicated that law enforcement had tracked his cellphone and received information from a confidential source placing him in Mexico. A federal warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, leaving the families of Omero Garcia and Antonio Hernandez waiting for justice as the alleged shooter remained at large.
