On November 13, 2019, 28-year-old Jacob Ryan Roberson was found shot multiple times in a room at the American Inn on Armour Road in North Kansas City and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Metropolitan Area Major Case Squad took over the homicide investigation after North Kansas City police responded.

Hotel surveillance showed a maroon SUV arrive; three males and one female exited, entered a secured area and went toward Roberson’s room. Several people fled soon after. A stray bullet also penetrated an adjacent room, grazing another guest, who suffered only a minor injury.

Court documents say 27-year-old Zachary B. Gifford of Platte City confessed to family members that he and Roberson fought, that Roberson pulled a gun, and that Gifford shot Roberson multiple times — including as Roberson rolled over and again while leaving the room. Gifford and his girlfriend left the area; he was later tracked to Ottumwa, Iowa, and arrested. The Clay County prosecutor charged him with second-degree murder and armed criminal action and he was held on $1 million bond.

Did anyone in the Kansas City area see a maroon SUV near the American Inn on November 13, 2019?