Levon J. Quinn, a 30-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in Kansas City, Missouri, on the afternoon of Friday, May 23, 2025. The incident began inside a business near Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard, where Quinn became involved in a verbal altercation with another man. Security footage captured the two exchanging words before leaving the establishment together, continuing their dispute face-to-face just outside the entrance.
As Quinn turned to walk away toward his vehicle, the situation escalated violently.
The other man, identified as Marquis D. Ponder, a security officer for the Center School District who was off-duty but wearing his uniform polo shirt, allegedly drew a black handgun from his pocket. Witnesses reported seeing Ponder brandish the weapon before firing a single shot at Quinn as he attempted to leave the area. Quinn managed to get into his white SUV and drive away from the scene, but the injuries he sustained proved catastrophic. Moments later, his vehicle collided with a motorcycle and another car near West 43rd Street and Broadway Boulevard, knocking a motorcyclist to the ground.
First responders arrived at the crash site initially believing they were attending to a traffic accident. However, they discovered Quinn unresponsive in the driver's seat, suffering from a gunshot wound. Emergency medical personnel transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The motorcyclist involved in the collision survived. Police investigators quickly linked the crash to the earlier shooting after locating a shell casing and a trail of blood in the parking lot where the argument had occurred.
Investigators utilized surveillance video to identify Ponder, who was seen in the footage wearing a blue shirt embroidered with 'Center School District' and 'Officer Ponder.' The video showed him following Quinn and firing the weapon. Ponder was arrested later that evening, around 6:00 p.m., during a traffic stop on Gregory Boulevard. Following his arrest, Ponder was charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of armed criminal action. He was held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. The Center School District subsequently terminated his employment, stating he would not be returning to work.
Levon Quinn was born on July 14, 1994, to parents Leroy and Beatrice Coleman. A funeral service was scheduled for June 18, 2025, at the Maranatha Family Worship Center to honor his memory. The tragic sequence of events that Friday afternoon marked the city's 65th homicide of the year, leaving a family grieving and a community shaken by the violence that erupted from a dispute in broad daylight.
