On May 24, 2022, 39-year-old Elijah Kenny Flores, known to friends and family as Kenny, was found in a vacant lot on the 700 block of Ditman Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, suffering from gunshot wounds. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene. The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide, identifying gunshot defects to his armpit and back.

Investigators determined the shooting occurred inside a nearby residence at 714 Ditman Avenue. Witnesses said Flores had been helping an acquaintance, 43-year-old Mark R. Sellars of Independence, look for Sellars’ recently stolen truck when a verbal argument erupted. Witnesses alleged Sellars produced a handgun as Flores headed for the front door, shot him in the back, then fired additional rounds and attempted to take the victim’s car keys and cellphone. Spent 9mm shell casings were recovered near the front door.

Sellars was arrested the next day at a property in Independence; officers reported he was in possession of methamphetamine and appeared under the influence. The Jackson County Prosecutor charged Sellars with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful possession of a firearm, and asked the court to hold him without bond. Does anyone have information about Flores, Sellars, or the events on Ditman Avenue that night?