Jeffrey Traviss King, the Kansas City man accused of shooting his neighbor to death in the street outside his house earlier this month, may seek a ‘stand your ground,’ defense, his attorney suggested Tuesday.
“It is very important for people to acknowledge and respect that Mr. King, at least according to the probable cause statement — this is a law enforcement affidavit — it states that Mr. King was ambushed at his home. And the state of Missouri has very robust self-defense protection and is a stand your ground state,” said Kansas City defense attorney, Matthew T. Merryman, with The Bates & Merryman Law Firm.
The case, which has yet to be scheduled for trial, involves King, 42, who around 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 12 got into an outdoor confrontation with his neighbor, Christopher Cole Wells, 41, who lived three houses away on the 2500 block of Northeast 78th Street, in the Clay County portion of Kansas City.
The fight that ensued, according to the police probable cause statement, ended with Wells, the married father of four children, being shot at close range and dying in the middle of the street, lying face down, with five bullet holes in the front of his body and eight in his back…