Man charged with murder in connection to shooting of KC store owner
Mar 31, 2025
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Murder charges have been filed in a Clay County Circuit Court against a 23-year-old man after investigators said he was involved in a deadly shooting last week.
According to court records, Joseph Lapsley Jr. is facing one count of first-degree murder and one count of armed cri
minal action after 47-year-old Samuel Aro was shot and later died at a hospital on March 23.
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Previous reporting said that on the night of the shooting, at about 2:30 a.m., officers with the Kansas City Police Department were called to a shop in the Grey Oaks Commons -- located near the 7800 block of N. Oak Trafficway -- on reports of a shooting.
When officers arrived at the scene, they reported finding multiple people trying to save a man who had been shot. The man, who was later identified as Aro, was found in the doorway of a business he owned and operated.
After emergency responders made it to the scene, Aro was taken to a hospital with critical injuries. He died the following morning.
According to law enforcement, the suspect, currently identified as Lapsely, is believed to have been in an argument with Aro before the shooting. Police said he later fled before officers arrived on the scene.
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Three days later, on March 26, Lapsely was arrested after police tracked down his apartment and the car he drove from the crime scene, court records said.
Lapsely is now being held in a Clay County jail on a $2 million bond. His next court appearance is on Monday at 2 p.m. ...read more read less