Jean Peters Baker has demonstrated once again why she might be the best Jackson County prosecutor in at least the last 45 years — as long as I’ve been following Jackson County politics.
We’ve had some good prosecutors during that time, including now-U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and the late Albert Riederer. We’ve had some sketchy prosecutors, too, like Joe Teasdale, who somehow went on to get himself elected governor, and, before him, Ralph Martin.
As a reporter for The Star, I covered parts of the Martin and Teasdale administrations, and I believe political considerations and personal connections too often guided decision-making.
Jean Peters Baker
Not so with Baker, about whom The Star said recently, “She is known to put justice and the law above all else.”
And, so, there she was on the front page of this morning’s paper, announcing charges in the tragic case of 30-year-old Kyle Van Winkle, who made the mistake about three months ago of getting into the wrong green Jeep in the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot.
In the photo, Baker’s left hand rests on the arm of Van Winkle’s father, Dean Van Winkle, who is looking down, lips tight. Next to Dean is his wife Cindy, hands folded in front of her as she looks at Baker.
It is a grim and sad photo, but it also speaks of justice.
Kyle Van Winkle’s killer will almost surely be convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and he will likely do prison time. The defendant is 25-year-old Joshua T. Bradley of Independence.
Here’s a guy, who from all accounts, beat the crap out of a drunken, stoned or sick Van Winkle after Van Winkle had left the Chiefs-Broncos game in the first quarter and mistakenly crawled into a Jeep that looked like the one he had come to the game in. Unfortunately, he was off by about 10 parking spaces.
A bunch of people were tailgating, which revolves around drinking, and the guy who owns the Jeep that Van Winkle was sleeping in sent his 10- or 11-year-old son to get help. Why the guy thought he needed help I don’t understand, but maybe that will come out at trial, if there is one.
After Van Winkle either got out of the vehicle or was pulled out, words apparently were exchanged. Court records quote the Jeep owner as saying, “The bigger feller (Bradley), he walked away and something was said and he turned around and he just started hitting him (Van Winkle).”
Then, according to today’s KC Star story:
“After Van Winkle fell to the ground, the attacker continued hitting him…The attacker left Van Winkle on the pavement. Another bystander propped him up against a bus.
“After they noticed Van Winkle had turned blue, bystanders flagged down a security guard and started CPR.”
And what did Bradley see fit to do? Well, “the bigger feller,” who so valiantly had come to the rescue of the helpless Jeep owner, took off. Bolted!
When it was time to really be a man — to stand up and admit that he had completely overreacted — he went home.
Left for dead, propped up against that bus, was a college graduate who worked at a bank as a loan officer, a young husband, the father of a seven-week-old son.
But like I said at the top, there’s a good thing about this case: We have a prosecutor who pursues criminals without fear or favor. She knows what people go through when they lose a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister or even a close friend to homicide.
She reaches out and touches heartbroken parents. And she slams her prosecutorial fist down on the thugs.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Josh Bradley is the poster child for the definition of a coward. Like you said, ran home to mommy at the first sign of trouble.
I hope the Chiefs recognize what exists out in their parking lot before, during and after games after this incident. Why they allow so many to stay out there to just drink, and drink some more, is mind boggling.
The NFL is an extremely profitable enterprise and they maximize revenue better than any company in the world. But they have issues inside the locker rooms, on the field, in the stands and the parking lots in all 32 cities. I’m not sure how much longer they can keep their head in the sand…….
Jennifer — Did you see what the Dutch speed-skating coach Jillert Anema had to say last week about the NFL?
Talking about why the Americans have a difficult time competing with the Dutch in speed skating, he said:
“You have a lot of attention on a foolish sport like American football and you waste a lot of talent, athletic talent, on a sport that is meant to kill each other, to injure each other. … You’re so narrow-minded, and then you want to compete against the world [in other sports] when you waste a lot of time, good talent on a sport that sucks.”
Pretty strong stuff. I’m sure it pissed off a lot of pro football fans, but he’s sure right about it being a sport where at least some of the participants are trying to injure each other.
I saw that but pretty much dismissed it. If there is one thing about Americans that everyone agrees on it’s the ‘almighty dollar’. Players, coaches and fans care about winning and it seems lately that it’s at any cost. Unless you are in the Hunt family, naturally. I have no doubt if Paul Allen wanted to bankroll an Olympic gold medal team in speed skating in addition to the Seahawks, he would succeed. We just only seem to care about that stuff every four years or so (when it’s kinda late to care).
This is good news, if there can ever be good news about this tragedy, though this violent criminal won’t serve much time with that charge. I hope his loved ones are comforted by this, though I can’t imagine they could really be comforted by much right now. One day, they’ll have to explain to that baby what happened to his father, and it won’t make any more sense then than it does now.
Have the policies about tailgating been changed? I kept hoping I would read about how it was no longer allowed and that those without tickets to the game would not be permitted to hang out in the parking lot, getting drunk and causing mayhem. Maybe I missed the story.
“Wasting talent, potential, bodies, and lives in pursuit of lots of money for a just a few” seems to be the mission of the NFL. It’s shameful. I don’t know why more people aren’t disgusted with it.
The Chiefs have not altered, or even talked about, changing the tailgating policies at Arrowhead. Parking lots open 3 1/2 hours before game time — which is much too long, in my opinion. I think it should be reduced to two hours, which would allow plenty of time for the crowd to filter in.
Here’s the rest of the tailgating and parking policy, from the Chiefs’ website:
Important Parking and Tailgating Information for Chiefs Fans:
One vehicle per parking space.
Parking passes and parking spaces are for vehicles only, and cannot be used for trailers, grills, tables, additional tailgating spaces, etc.
All vehicles pulling a trailer of any kind will be charged for an extra parking space and must park in the grass.
You must tailgate in front of or behind your vehicle.
Saving spaces is not permitted.
Parking passes do not guarantee a specific parking spot.
Roadways, aisles, and other parking spaces must be kept free of tailgating equipment so that vehicles may park or pass.
If your vehicle is too large to fit in the 8’X16’ space in the lot, you must park in the back of the lot or in the grass.
Parking lots close 90 minutes following games or stadium events.
Overnight parking is not allowed.
Violations of these policies may result in the loss of reserved parking and/or purchase of season tickets.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation with Arrowhead security and TRAFFIC personnel, KCPD, and MSHP officers on our complex.