JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

It’s the weekend and it’s been pretty serious around these parts lately, so I want to shift gears and liven things up a bit.

…It’s American Royal time, right? Oh, it ended last month? What the hell…I’m going to tell you an American Royal story, anyway.

Let’s go back to the days when the Golden Ox, the Genessee Inn, Sutera’s and Kemper Arena were the lifeblood of the West Bottoms. A grand time it was, especially when the Royal was underway.

A lot of people who came into town for the American Royal Livestock, Horse Show and Rodeo would hang out at those places, and you could usually distinguish them by their attire — brown suits and string ties, sometimes, boots, belts with big buckles and sharply structured cowboy hats.

One night during the American Royal, Patty and I and a good friend of ours from St. Louis, Mary Buttice, were at the Genessee Inn, standing at the bar. Nearby were two suit-and-string-tie gents with big hats — probably in their 50s or maybe early 60s. Pretty soon we struck up a conversation with them, curiosity being a big factor in our initiation of the chat.

One of the two was more talkative than the other, and in short order he announced that he and his buddy were livestock judges. Well, now, we were pretty doggone impressed…The only judges I’d ever known were those I covered at the Jackson County Courthouse.

Livestock judges? We wanted to know more about that, for sure.

To be properly deferential, I immediately began calling each of them “Judge,” and, naturally, we asked them what judging livestock was all about and what criteria they used in determining quality and rankings.

Judge 1 then started in…”Well, you’ve got your sheep, your hogs, your goats, your cattle and your chickens…”

He paused, and we leaned forward, waiting for him to go on. “Like I say,” he said again, “you’ve got your sheep, your hogs, your goats, your cattle and your chickens.”

Again, he paused, and at that point something registered with one of us, who said, “Chickens?”

“Yes, chickens,” the judge continued. “Do you know how we judge chickens?”

“No,” we said, shaking our heads, anxiously awaiting the answer.

“Well,” he continued, “it’s all in the shape of the egg.”

“What?” one or more of us said as we looked quizzically at each other.

“Yes, the shape of the egg.”

At that point, Mary, our St. Louis friend, experienced an epiphany of sorts and enthusiastically blurted out, “Oblong!”

“Right!” Judge 1 replied, pointing at Mary. “Oblong!”

…Then, he suddenly shifted gears.

“You know why the egg is oblong?” he asked.

“No,” we said, mouths and eyes now wide open.

“SO WHEN THE HEN LAYS THE EGG, HER ASS DON’T SLAM SHUT!”

With the words “slam shut,” Judge 1 slapped his hands together in a loud, startling clap.

We recoiled a bit and stared as Judge 1 and Judge 2 broke into raucous laughter, slapping their knees and exchanging self-congratulatory nods and smiles.

There wasn’t a lot to say after that, and within a minute or two we sidled off, leaving Judge 1 and Judge 2 luxuriating in having laid a trap for three “hens” from the city and then, very efficiently, lopping off their heads.

With police apparently thwarted, at least temporarily, in their attempt to obtain solid evidence in the Thomas Pickert murder case, authorities reportedly are attempting to build another type of criminal case against the man who had the most obvious motive to kill Pickert.

A lawyer with extensive experience as a former assistant Jackson County prosecutor and also as a criminal defense attorney told me today that authorities, very likely federal, are working to bring white-collar-crime charges against 79-year-old David Jungerman.

“Evidently, he (Jungerman) has serious issues with the IRS on the financial front,” my source said.

Authorities are working feverishly, the lawyer said, to bring charges as quickly as possible, under a theory that if they can obtain a white-collar conviction against Jungerman and get a prison sentence of several years, he would likely die in custody.

From what I have read in legal filings, the pursuit of tax-related charges does not surprise me.

Jungerman is a very wealthy man, and it appears he has been moving assets around, perhaps in an attempt to shield them from one big damage judgment already entered against him and perhaps from two other pending damage cases.

In the case where judgment has been entered, a jury awarded a homeless man $5.75 million after Jungerman shot him on on a loading dock outside a baby-furniture-manufacturing building Jungerman owns in northeast Kansas City…Pickert, the dead lawyer, represented the homeless man, thus the obvious motive.

An article about that civil case on the “Missouri Lawyers Weekly” website said this:

“Pickert also introduced evidence of Jungerman’s wealth. Jungerman is a farmer and owner of a company that makes baby furniture. The exhibits pointed to the possibility that Jungerman had assets of over $50 million while he was trustee of a family trust, and showed he transferred his trustee role to a child and transferred other assets after the suit was filed. He disputed the $50 million figure, saying he is worth about $8 million.”

One of two other civil damage cases pending against Jungerman as a result of shootings on his northeast Kansas City property alludes to alleged irregularities pertaining to the trust.

Moreover, in the course of writing about Jungerman, I came across a 2010 blog post that said he owned “6,800 acres of river bottom land in western Missouri,” in and around Bates County, about an hour south of Kansas City. Whether he still owns that land, I don’t know.

The building he owns at 123 S. Belmont Blvd. takes up most of an entire block. It houses a company called Baby Tenda Corp., which Jungerman has operated for many years. The main product the company manufactures is baby high chairs. The company has no retail outlets but instead sells through distributors.

Jungerman also owns a home and several acres in Raytown.

**

One of the evidentiary problems in the Pickert case, my source said, is that police may not have been able to recover either the bullet that killed Pickert or sufficient remnants to match it to particular gun. (There is no indication police have retrieved any weapon that might be connected with the case.)

I heard or read early on that Pickert was thought to have been shot at close range, but after reading what a detective wrote in an application to search a white van Jungerman owns, I began to think he may have been shot from a distance of 20 to 30 feet or more. That’s because Pickert’s wife went to a front window after hearing a “loud noise” and asked Pickert, who was out front talking on his cell phone, if he knew what the noise was.

“No,” he replied. Moments later, there was a second loud noise — the sound from the shot that killed Pickert. The only way Pickert would not have known what was going on was if he had his back to the killer and was so engrossed in his phone call that he didn’t turn around after hearing the first “loud noise.”

**

Another element that has contributed to confusion is some TV stations have reported that shortly after the shooting, police were looking specifically for a van Jungerman owns. Police said they were looking for a white, 1997 Chevy van with a specific license plate number, but I don’t think either of two people who reported seeing a white van at the crime scene actually got its license number. More likely, as I’ve written before, is that police homed in on Jungerman because of the possible motive and because at least one witness reported seeing “an older, gray haired, white male standing near the back side of the van” a few minutes before the shooting.

My guess is police quickly checked vehicle registration records and found Jungerman owns a 1997 white Chevy van. My theory is that, in publicizing the license number with the description, they inadvertently contributed to some media members’ conclusion that Jungerman’s van — not just a generic white Chevy van — had been spotted at the scene.

The Star handled the initial report about the van carefully, and probably accurately:

“Soon after Pickert was found dead Wednesday morning, police began looking for a white 1997 Chevrolet van with Missouri license 6FA 453. By late afternoon, police found the van — unoccupied. Police said they would not immediately release more details about finding the van.”

Compare that with a KCTV5, Nov. 1 report that said: “Witnesses say they saw Jungerman’s van at the crime scene at the time of Pickert’s murder.”

A lawyer who has more than a passing knowledge of the case told me Nov. 1, a week after the homicide, that authorities suspected Jungerman but they were being very careful, just as they were in the recent serial-killer case.

Don’t forget, in the serial-killer case, police released a video of a young man walking in the area where Mike Darby, one of the victims, was shot while walking his dog. In releasing the video, police said the man pictured was not considered a suspect but someone who “may have vital information.” Twenty-three-year-old Freddie Scott later was arrested and confessed to three murders. He also admitted he was the guy in the video.

…I think David Jungerman has “vital information” about the Pickert murder. We know police questioned him the day after the murder, and we know he clammed up after a while and asked for a lawyer. It was at about that point in the conversation, I’d speculate, that detectives were getting to the vital part.

Tell me, readers, where did I go wrong?

What in the world could have made me think this was going to be a close election!!??

75 percent “yes,” 25 percent “no.” Holy crap!

…It is almost unbelievable how much ground the issue of a new KCI terminal made up within the last year and a half.

On May 3, 2016, Mayor Sly James threw in the towel on a November 2016 KCI election, saying:

“It’s clear that the city is not ready to move on or to move forward with the KCI conversation at this point. In fact, less than 40 percent believe that it is a good idea to move forward…”

At that time, a poll indicated 39 percent of Kansas City voters favored a new, single terminal, while 51 percent were opposed.

It seemed hopeless, dead…And then a year later, along came…along came…Burns & McDonnell.

Strange as it now sounds, it was Burns & McDonnell’s no-bid proposal — an outrageously overpriced gambit as it turned out — that kicked up a fresh breeze. Over the last six months, that breeze steadily accelerated, and by Tuesday it was a veritable typhoon.

“We’ve come a long, long way,” James told a revved-up crowd of more than 300 people in an event space at Briarcliff village last night. “…We got here through a circuitous route, but the scenery was nice along the way.”

Part of the crowd at Briarcliff village last night

Take a look at these numbers…

Kansas City south of the Missouri River:

“Yes” — 32,651 (77 percent)
“No” —   9,526 (23 percent)

Kansas City in Clay County:

“Yes” — 11,537 (70 percent)
“No” —   4,822 (30)

Kansas City in Platte County:

“Yes” — 5,761 (74 percent)
“No” — 2,030 (26 percent)

Grand Total:

“Yes” — 49,949 (75 percent)
“No” —  16,378 (25 percent)

Amazing.

Of course, I had plenty of company in thinking this was going to be a close election and that it could possibly go down to defeat. As the campaign went along, however, it began looking like things were heading up. For one thing, all those people who had been screaming interminably about how “convenient” the current airport is (used to be!) began to melt away, as the reality of dark, dingy and uncomfortable KCI settled in with more and more people.

Then, along came the big bucks — somewhere between $1.5 million and $2 million in contributions — to fuel a full-frontal campaign consisting primarily of mailers, TV ads, yard signs and dozens of “canvassers,” who sought out frequent voters and homed in on those who were undecided but open to voting “yes.” (The solid “no” voters and the sure “yes” voters were not pursued; no need.)

Here are some of the people who deserve credit for this victory:

Sly James

Once again, this mayor showed he can never be underestimated and that when he sets his mind on something, he has the ability win over thousands and thousands of voters. Kansas Citians trust him, by and large, and they have no problem following his lead on hundred-million-dollar — even billion-dollar — initiatives.

City Manager Troy Schulte

He knows the airport issue through and through and is a very effective public speaker, a fairly rare quality among city managers. Another great Schulte skill is listening to contrarians and making them feel heard, but not allowing them to derail the focus. Deftly, he always guides the conversation back to his theme, and the contrarians’ anger seems to subside.

Mark Nevins

Nevins is a partner in The Dover Group, a political consulting firm based in Philadelphia. Sly James relied on the group for strategy and advice in his 2011 mayoral election and his 2015 re-election. He has brought The Dover Group in to work on issue campaigns, too, including the astonishingly successful $800 million general-obligation bond campaign last spring. Nevins ran that campaign, as well as the airport campaign.

Phillip P. Scaglia

Scaglia, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and former chief of staff to the late U.S. Rep. Karen McCarthy, ran the canvassing, voter-outreach operation. The son of a former Missouri state representative, Scaglia has politics in his blood…Interesting side note: His initials provided the inspiration for the name of his company, Powerful Performance Solutions.

**

The City Council as a whole also deserves kudos. A group of council members who refused to roll over for the mayor’s Burns and Mac gambit insisted that the city solicit proposals from other companies. As a result, the price tag came down significantly with the selection of Edgemoor, based in Bethesda, MD.

The Star’s editorial board — under the leadership of editor page editor Colleen McCain Nelson and the lively and insightful editorials written by Dave Helling — gets much credit for its unflinching advocacy for a new terminal and its relentless push for an open, competitive process.

And finally, hats off to Kansas City voters, who saw the light and realized the current KCI’s best days were long gone and that it was time to check “yes” on the question of a first-class airport for a first-class city.

As Sly James said at the victory party:

“The people of this city get it when they get the facts…Every part of Kansas City pulling together is what accomplished this goal tonight.”

From left, Councilwoman Jolie Justus, Mayor Sly James, and councilmen Jermaine Reed, Dan Fowler, Scott Taylor and Quinton Lucas

After years of discussion, we’ve now reached the eve of a public vote on whether to build a new, single terminal at KCI.

I intend to vote “yes,” of course and I feel pretty good about the outcome, although I realize victory is by no means assured.

I believe the key to the outcome could be the Northland — that part of the city that lies in Clay and Platte counties.

South of the Missouri River I foresee a big, “yes” vote on Question 1, especially along the heavy-voting Ward Parkway. In my neighborhood, Romanelli West, south of Meyer Circle Fountain, indications of support for Question 1 abound. There are lots of “A Better KCI” yard signs out, and I hear virtually no one speaking against the proposal.

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, the homes association sponsored an airport-election meeting, and more than 50 people attended. City Manager Troy Schulte and Councilman Quinton Lucas spoke and answered questions, and, overall, they got an enthusiastic response. To my surprise, the enthusiasm was only slightly muted by the fact that Geoff Stricker, managing partner of Edgemoor, the Maryland firm that would build the new terminal, failed to appear as scheduled. (The campaign committee informed me the next morning he had been taken ill.)

But back to the Northland…Even though KCI has been a strong economic engine for the Northland, many Northland residents don’t always share their southern counterparts’ views of what constitutes progress. Part of that is due to the fact that many Northland residents simply don’t feel a close connection to City Hall, and part of it is the Northland tends to be more conservative than the area south of the river, which is much more diverse.

Another factor has been political leadership. U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, whose district is mostly rural but takes in the Clay and Platte sections of Kansas City, is decidedly anti-city. Once, in a political debate, I heard him denounce former Mayor Kay Barnes — who was seeking to replace him in the House of Representatives — for advocating development of the Kansas City Power & Light District. Speaking about the millions of dollars in city subsidies for the entertainment district, he said something like, “That might be the way you do things down in the city, but it’s not how we operate up here.”

I realized then that he had absolutely no interest in what happens in Missouri’s largest city, a significant part of which lies in his district.

Graves has generally been cool and non-communicative about the prospect of a new KCI, but he warmed up six months ago, after the engineering firm Burns & McConnell. Interestingly, Burns and Mac has been  a major contributor to Graves’ congressional campaigns.

Graves issued a statement, saying:  “I like this new concept and it’s a step in the right direction. But a lot remains to be seen, especially the final costs and how convenience is going to be preserved. That’s what matters to people in this region and in the Northland.”

After the City Council decided to open the project up to competing proposals, Burns and Mac’s proposal was shown to be outrageously overpriced, and the firm was quickly dropped from consideration by a city selection committee.

Now, Graves has re-buried his head in the sand. When I called his local office today, an aide who took the call said, “Congressman Graves has not made a public comment about Question 1.”

Another Northland representative, City Councilwoman Teresa Loar, has generally opposed a new, single terminal, but she did join nine other City Council members in voting for Edgemoor as contractor. I sent her an email this morning, asking if she intends to vote for Question 1 tomorrow, but as of publication time I hadn’t heard back.

One Northland officeholder who does favor Question 1 is City Councilman Dan Fowler. In an Op-Ed piece in Sunday’s Kansas City Star, Fowler wrote:

“I used to love KCI — and my old bell-bottom jeans — but that was years ago. I’ve since decided it’s time to let go of those once-popular pants, and our outdated KCI as well. Neither meets today’s expectations, and frankly, neither fits comfortably anymore. Some changes are good.”

In addition to Fowler, several Northland business groups are supporting Question 1, including the Northland Chamber of Commerce.

Jim Rice, a chamber board member and a longtime Clay County resident, said he has heard very little talk about the election and has seen very few yard signs. He said the committee running the campaign seems to have focused on identifying “frequent, positive voters and getting a good turnout from those folks,” while avoiding those the campaign has identified as opposed.

Rice said he believed a “yes” vote was more doubtful in the Platte County part of Kansas City than the Clay County segment, mainly because “Platte County is a little more conservative.”

Overall, Rice expects a close vote but predicted that, in the end, Kansas City voters will approve Question 1.

For whatever reason, the official election-night “watch party” will be held in the Northland. I will be there.

I urge you, Kansas City residents, to join me in voting “Yes.” Let’s get on with building a first-class airport! 

The first bullet missed Thomas Pickert.

Talking on his cell phone, Pickert apparently didn’t know he’d been fired at. Momentary confusion and uncertainty followed.

Then came a second shot. It struck its mark.

Pickert fell down on the sidewalk in front of his home. When his wife got to him moments later, the 39-year-old lawyer was dead, and a white van was leaving the scene, headed west on 66th Terrace. It turned north on either Brookside Road or Wornall.

…Those details, previously unreported, as far as I know, are contained in a search warrant issued on Oct. 25, the day of the murder.

Jungerman

The search warrant — a public record I obtained from the Jackson County Circuit Court yesterday — reveals significant circumstantial evidence pointing toward 79-year-old David Jungerman as the possible shooter.

As straightforward and dry as they customarily are, police and criminal-case records often tell a dramatic story of how a crime occurred and who may have perpetrated it. This is a classic example.

But before the details, a bit of background. Pickert had represented a man who won a $5.75 million civil judgment against Jungerman in July. Pickert represented a homeless man whom Jungerman had shot after discovering him and another man in a building Jungerman owns.

The day before Pickert was murdered, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department had served Jungerman with notice that the court was beginning the process of seizing property he owns in Jackson County, as well as Vernon and Bates counties in southwest Missouri.

Although Jungerman had appealed the judgment, he apparently was not able to post a bond (the amount of which was probably quite large) that would “stay” execution of the judgment.

Kansas City police quickly homed in on Jungerman as someone they wanted to talk to about the murder. One thing that aroused their interest was that after the verdict was announced, “Jungerman had an outburst in the courtroom where he cursed and yelled…at court personnel, including the victim.”

Another incriminating fact: A records check showed Jungerman owned a white van.

At 11:03 p.m. Oct. 25 — 15 hours after the murder — KCPD Det. Bonita Cannon filed a warrant application to search a white 1997 Chevrolet Express — its license number listed in the warrant application — believed to be owned by Jungerman. Detective Cannon wrote that the van was thought to be located on the premises of a home in the 9200 block of East 60th Terrace in Raytown.

At 11:04 p.m. Oct. 25 — a minute after the application was filed with the Jackson County Circuit Court — a judge signed the warrant application.The warrant was executed either that night or the next day. Police apparently seized and searched the vehicle and also questioned Jungerman. They did not arrest him, and they have not identified him as a suspect.

A generic 1997 Chevrolet Express van.

Now, back to the warrant itself…

Police took statements from two people at or near the murder scene. (The warrant does not identify either by name.)

“Witness #1 stated he observed a white van, with no windows on the driver side other than driver door, east on 67th Street, turn north on Linden (Road)…He stated the vehicle was parked for a few minutes, saw an older, gray haired, white male standing near the back side of the van, before getting into the driver’s seat. The older white male drove west on 66th Terrace and park (stet) ahead of a blue truck, on the north side of the street on 66th Terrace, across from the dispatch address.”

Here’s what the warrant says regarding the second witness, apparently Pickert’s wife, Emily Riegel, a physician with the University of Kansas Health System.

“Witness #2 stated she was inside the residence at the dispatched address when she heard a loud noise. When she looked out the window, she observed the victim standing on the sidewalk in front of the residence, talking on his cell phone. She asked if he knew what the sound was, he replied, “No.” Witness #2 stated she told the victim to come inside of the house, as she moved back into the bedroom. Witness #2 stated she heard a second loud noise. When she looked back out the window, she could no longer see the victim but did observe a white snub nosed van, on the north side of the street on 66th Terrace, facing west bound with no windows on (the) side, leaving the scene westbound on West 66th Terrace. She believed the vehicle then went north on either Wornall Road or Brookside Road.”

Thomas Pickert was fatally shot in this block of 66th Terrace, just east of Brookside Road. (Brookside Road should not be confused with Brookside Boulevard, which runs from 49th Street to a block south of 63rd Street. This shot is looking east.)

**

The warrant does not indicate if either witness got a close enough look at the van driver to identify him. Also, it does not indicate if the first witness got the license plate number or if police got that from state vehicle registration records. What the warrant says on those two points is: “Jungerman fits the description from the witness at the scene and his vehicle fits the description provided by both witnesses.”

Police wanted to process the van, the warrant says, “for bullet fragment, firearms, ammunition, spent shell casings, photographs, DNA, trace evidence to include but not limited to blood, hair fibers, fingerprints and other microscopic evidence.”

Now, fast forward to Thursday, Nov. 1, two days ago. Detective Cannon filed an “officer’s return” document with the Circuit Court reporting the basic results of the vehicle search.

In cursive, she wrote on the one-page return what police recovered from the van and what they did to extract possible evidence. Here’s an image of that page…

The application for the search warrant, the signed warrant and the “officer’s return” are the only public documents that have been filed in the case, as far as I know.

**

Here is some information about Jungerman that helps with context.

:: In court records from numerous civil cases he has been involved in, Jungerman listed his address as 6000 Elm Avenue, Raytown. That, however, is a vacant lot adjacent to Elm Lake, which is more like a large pond. As I noted above, police listed an address for Jungerman on East 60th Terrace. The house is a long stone’s throw from the vacant lot.

Here is a screen shot of the intersection of East 60th Terrace and Elm Avenue.

:: For many years, Jungerman has owned a company that manufactures baby high chairs, which are sold through distributors. The name of the company is Baby Tenda Corp., also known as Babee Tenda. I believe the homeless man who won the big judgment last summer was shot in the building that houses Baby Tenda. Jungerman shot the man, and possibly another man, after finding them on his property in 2012. The man who won the $5.75 million jury award had to have a leg amputated as a result of his injuries.

The building that houses the Baby Tenda company is at 123 S. Belmont Blvd. in northeast Kansas City (below). The business appeared to be operating as recently as a few days ago, when I drove by.

:: Jungerman has been through two divorces in Jackson County in recent years. Court records show he married a woman in October 2012 and that a dissolution was granted in July 2014. The woman’s age is not listed, and they had no children.

He married again three months later, in October 2014. A motion for dissolution was filed in August 2015, and a dissolution was granted in December 2015. The woman’s year of birth was listed as 1957, which would make her almost 20 years younger than Jungerman, who was born in 1938. They had no children.

A 2010 blog post I found in researching Jungerman referenced a daughter, which leads me to believe he has had at least one other marriage in his lifetime.

…The fellow appears to cover a lot of ground and leave a rough wake.

It’s a new day and I’ve got more new information about David Jungerman, whom Kansas City police suspect — but aren’t saying so publicly — in the Wednesday, Oct. 25, murder of lawyer Thomas Pickert.

At the same time the 79-year-old Jungerman is facing foreclosure on his property to satisfy a multi-million-dollar civil judgment, he is also fighting a criminal charge stemming from allegedly threatening a tenant of his in June 2016.

As nearly I can tell from entries in case.net, which provides public access to Missouri court records, Jungerman is charged with misdemeanor harassment. Misdemeanors carry a penalty of up to a year in jail.

A most interesting development took place in that case on Tuesday of this week, when the Kansas City attorney who had been representing Jungerman, Brian Lee Palmer, was allowed to withdraw.

Even more interesting, Palmer had entered his appearance on behalf of Jungerman only 13 days earlier, on Oct. 18.

One more pertinent fact: On Oct. 25, the day Pickert was shot at close range while sitting on his front porch in Brookside, Palmer filed a motion with the court to take the deposition of a witness.

Here’s that time line:

:: Oct. 18, Palmer enters his appearance in the harassment case
:: Oct. 25, Pickert is shot and killed about 8:07 a.m.
:: Oct. 25, Palmer files a motion to depose a witness in the harassment case
:: Oct. 30, Palmer asks to be released from the case
:: Oct. 31, Palmer is allowed to withdraw

What does that look like to you?

My take is Palmer got involved with Jungerman innocently enough, but after the complexion of things changed dramatically in a matter of days…out the door he went.

Brian Lee Palmer

I was fortunate enough to have a brief chat with Palmer after he picked up the phone this evening in his Crown Center office. After I stated the reason for my call — wanting to know why he up and left as Jungerman’s attorney — he replied:

“Thank you for your call, and I have no comment on anything related to that. And good luck with your article.”

(Very gracious of him, I thought, to wish me luck — don’t get that too often — but it was completely unnecessary.)

…I alluded to the harassment case in yesterday’s post, having received from a friend last week a “probable cause” statement pertaining to an incident that occurred in a village not far from Nevada, MO, in Vernon County, about 100 miles south of Kansas City.

I didn’t have time to follow up on that case yesterday, but I began sorting through it late this afternoon on case.net.

Jungerman, who is listed in whitepages.com as living in Raytown, owns or owned a rental home in Vernon County. On June, 28, 2016, the probable cause statement says, Jungerman kicked in the door of the home and confronted the tenant, demanding to know, “When are you getting out of here you mother fucker?”

The tenant said Jungerman had a handgun in his waistband, and a witness said Jungerman placed his hand on the gun while “yelling and cussing” at the tenant.

A sheriff’s deputy responding to a 9-1-1 call from a witness spoke with Jungerman outside the house. The deputy said he told Jungerman that in order to remove the tenant “he had to go through the legal eviction process.” The deputy also asked Jungerman if he had a firearm, and Jungerman said he had one in the center console of his car.

The deputy then retrieved a .40 caliber Glock, semi-automatic handgun from the console. “There was (stet) a total of 10 hollow point rounds in the Glock,” the deputy wrote in the probably cause statement.

Hollow points. Wikipedia describes a hollow-point bullet as one having “a pit or hollowed-out shape in its tip often intended to cause the bullet to expand upon entering a target.”

…The probable cause statement alleges Jungerman committed two felonies — burglary and armed criminal action — and one misdemeanor — harassment– and case.net indicates it was originally filed as a felony case. Somewhere along the line, however, it appears to have been reduced to a misdemeanor.

The case was originally assigned to a judge in Vernon County but was transferred, for a reason not explained in case.net, to Barton County, immediately south of Vernon County. (The Barton County seat is Lamar, best known, perhaps, as the birthplace of President Harry S. Truman.)

At first, Jungerman didn’t have an attorney and was representing himself. In September 2016, a Joplin attorney, William Fleischaker, entered his appearance on behalf of Jungerman. Fleischaker was the attorney of record until last April, when he withdrew. Six months later, Palmer entered his appearance.

**

The last case.net entry was made Tuesday, the day Brian Palmer exited. The judge in the case, David R. Munton, said this:

“If defendant does hire counsel by 11/16/2017, then court will probably continue the trial (which is scheduled to start the last week of November). If not, it will confirm to the court that defendant is not serious about wanting counsel and is trying to manipulate the court to get his court date continued.”

In any event, the judge noted, the case is on hold until at least Nov. 16.

After a couple of days of intense coverage of the Thomas Pickert murder last week, the story has basically gone quiet. One reason for the news vacuum is simple: KCPD has clammed up. (Another reason, unfortunately, is many reporters are too focused on “what new story have you got for me today?”)

When I called Officer Darin Snapp of the media department this morning, he had a quick and short answer to my question about the Pickert case: “Nothing new on that.”

…But don’t be fooled into thinking the case has gone “cold” after a week. This is all by design.

A lawyer friend of mine who has more than a passing knowledge of the case gave me some insight into the strategy today.

Here’s what’s going on, according to my source:

First, although police have not named a suspect, they have one. And guess who it is? Why, you’re right. It’s 79-year-old David Jungerman, whom police questioned the day after the slaying and whose 1997 Chevy van — with plates registered to him — they went looking for immediately after Pickert, 39, was shot at close range on his front porch in Brookside.

Second, Jungerman may well have contacted a local criminal defense attorney.

I called the attorney, John Picerno, this morning, and he was eager to talk about the case — other than the specific point about whether Jungerman had contacted him.

“I couldn’t comment on that one way or the other,” Picerno said, adding that he was “not involved in the case.”

When I told my source about Picerno’s no comment, my source responded by saying: “Ha! I knew it. I guarantee he will enter his appearance,” if and when Jungerman is charged.

My source’s theory is that police have gone quiet in hopes of lulling Jungerman into a false sense of security while they try to dig up evidence and develop a solid case.

“They don’t want to rattle this guy,” my source said. “They’ve gone radio silent to get him to come out of the woodwork.”

The source said it is not particularly noteworthy that police have not named Jungerman a suspect. The lawyer pointed out this investigation is following the same pattern police utilized in the case of suspected serial killer Fredrick Scott, 23, who is charged with three murders and suspected in three others.

In that case, you’ll recall, police released surveillance video of a man who had been walking in the Indian Creek Trail area where Mike Darby, one of the victims, was murdered. In releasing the video, police advised the media that the person in the video was not considered a suspect but someone who “may have vital information.”

It turned out the person in the video was, indeed, Scott.

**

Jungerman

We all know about the circumstances surrounding the Pickert murder. He was one of the lead lawyers in a civil case in which a homeless man sued Jungerman for shooting him in 2012 while he was on Jungerman’s property. During the summer, a jury awarded the victim $5.75 million, and the day before Pickert was murdered Jackson County Circuit Court officials sent Jungerman’s attorney notice that the court would begin the process of seizing Jungerman’s real estate to satisfy the judgment.

In 1990, in Raytown, Jungerman detained at gunpoint four teenagers he and his daughter came across on property he owns (or owned). When police arrived, however, they turned the tables on Jungerman, charging him with a gun violation. Jungerman was later convicted of a misdemeanor in that case.We also know Jungerman was a gun nut.

Last year, in Vernon County, Missouri, he threatened a tenant while displaying a gun in his belt. A probably cause statement says Jungerman got in the tenant’s face and said, “When are you getting out of here you mother fucker?”

Jungerman is also a braggart. In a video from a deposition taken in the case of the homeless man who got shot, Pickert noted in questioning Jungerman that Jungerman fired five times and struck the man with three bullets.

Jungerman replied: “That’s pretty good from the hip isn’t it? That’s lucky shooting, isn’t it?”

Undoubtedly, Jungerman is hoping luck was with him last Wednesday, the day Pickert was killed, and he’s hoping he won’t end up like Fredrick Scott, sitting in a Jackson County Jail cell awaiting trial on a murder charge.

On the other hand, police are hoping Jungerman, with his loud-mouth, reckless ways, will either have left incriminating evidence or he’ll be bragging to someone about a dastardly deed he might have been involved in a week ago today.

The final push toward getting voter approval of a new KCI terminal is on, and the big money is flowing freely.

With a week to go before the Nov. 7 election on Kansas City Question 1, the campaign committee working for passage has raised nearly $1.5 million and has spent all but about $80,000 of that.

(The official name of the campaign committee is KC Transportation, Transit and Tourism, but it is operating under the slogan “A Better KCI.”)

The campaign’s biggest expenses include nearly $250,000 for mailings and postage (I’m sure you’ve seen some of the mailers, if you live in the city) and more than $200,000 for polling, strategy and voter research.

A recent mailer

And if you watch a lot of TV but haven’t seen any TV ads, you soon will: The campaign has bought $630,000 worth of “media.”

Some of the biggest contributors so far include the Heavy Constructors Association, $135,000; Cerner Corp. and its political action committee, $125,000; Southwest Airlines, HNTB Corp., KCP&L Co., Pipe Fitters Local No. 533 and Western Missouri and Kansas Laborers District Council, $50,000 each; and Lockton Companies, $40,000.

A flock of companies and organizations have given $25,000 each. That group includes JE Dunn Construction, Black & Veatch, Operating Engineers Local 101, American Century Investments, Kansas City Southern, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, DST Systems Inc., Sprint and Hallmark Cards.

The two biggest individual contributors that I saw in campaign finance reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission were Paul DeBruce, former chairman and C.E.O. of DeBruce Grain, $15,000, and William Gautreaux, a former energy industry executive, $10,000.

Ten-thousand-dollar contributions of note came from Taxpayers Unlimited, the political arm of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local No. 42; the Kansas City Chiefs; Hunt Midwest; and Clarkson Construction, which would partner with Edgemoor, a Maryland firm, on construction of the terminal.

Edgemoor has contributed more than $70,000, including a $60,000 monetary contribution and more than $10,000 in “in-kind” services. In addition, The Star reported today that even Burns & McDonnell, which attempted early on to get a no-bid contract to build the terminal, gave $20,000 within the last few days.

…What to make of all this?

Well, as I said in a recent post, the sausage, once made, looks a lot better than it did in the making.

The process of getting the measure to a public vote bordered on being a certifiable disaster, with twists, turns and pivots that a serpent couldn’t manage. But somehow the City Council set an election date and weeks later designated a contractor, Edgemoor. And even without a decent design that shows what the new terminal would look like, it appears Question 1 has an excellent chance of gaining voter approval.

Why? Because what we’re seeing now is the unleashing of a tremendous amount of pent-up energy and cash from people and companies that have long wanted a new airport and have recognized, with eyes lasered on the future, that we desperately need one.

Some of those people and companies stand to make out handsomely from construction of a new airport, and some people — campaign consultants and strategists, in particular — are making a lot of money from the campaign itself.

But that’s OK. That’s the way it is in a lot of issue and candidate elections. People and companies put money into campaigns for a multitude of reasons, and sometimes the end result is good for everyone — even the public.

This is such a case!

From my perspective, there’s no reason to be cynical about the money cascading into the campaign…or the people who are making money directly off this campaign…or those who will make money if the new terminal proceeds. This is how the system works; this is what it takes to get a new airport. This is the winding, bumpy road that leads to real progress.

As I’ve said fairly consistently — with a couple of hiccups when it looked like the sausage was completely mangled — I’m all in.

I’ve said it many times: This is a first-class city that needs and deserves a first-class airport. What we’ve got now is a dump.

I say…screw the “convenience” of walking from curb to gate. Once you’re in the gate area, you might as well be in what Jackson County officials used to call the holding areas in the old jail on top of the courthouse: “tanks.”

I’m tired of being in those KCI tanks, and I’m tired of that dreary airport. I’m tired of looking at a crumbling Terminal A, and I’m tired of walking in an endless half-circle looking for someplace to buy an honest-to-God sandwich. (Can’t be had.)

I’m ready for some sunlight splashing down through curving glass ceilings onto the two concourses and the connecting walkway. I’m ready for nice selection of retail stores and restaurants and plenty of stations to charge mobile devices. And, yes, I’m ready for the MOVING WALKWAYS.

Now we’re talking convenience, goddamit!

Kansas City Star readers and City Hall watchers have been treated the last two days to an entertaining and enlightening spat between City Manager Troy Schulte and a handful of City Council members who have been feeling ignored.

I’m sure most of you have heard by now that Schulte reacted strongly and noisily to a proposed ordinance that would reduce the dollar amount of no-bid contracts he could award without council approval.

He essentially dared the council to fire him. If they did, he said, “I’ll earn more money and sleep better at night.”

The story was entertaining because we readers (and sometimes even reporters) aren’t always privy to the internal tensions and frictions that are bubbling up at the cauldron that is City Hall. (I’ve always said anything big that happens in Kansas City starts, goes through or ends at City Hall.)

The story was enlightening because it cast into sharp relief — for the first time in a big way publicly — the divide between council members who are unfailingly loyal to Mayor Sly James and a smaller contingent — led loosely by council members Katheryn Shields and Teresa Loar — that feels marginalized.

Among other things, the rump group has complained about not being informed of developments pertaining to the proposed convention hotel and also about James’ attempted Hail Mary pass to Burns & McDonnell on a no-bid, new-airport contract.

Today, I’m not getting into the councilmanic fissure, interesting though it is. What I am here to do is point out that we readers owe these last two days of compelling news stories to one thing: aggressive, on-the-ball reporting.

Turque

The credit goes, specifically, to City Hall reporter Bill Turque, who has been on the beat less than two months, having succeeded the very capable Lynn Horsley, who covered the city for nearly 20 years.

Turque, who came to The Star from The Washington Post, approached Schulte early this week to get his reaction to the ordinance that would limit his contracting prerogatives.

Turque’s questions must have struck a nerve with Schulte because, instead of giving a diplomatic answer, like, “Well, I’m not too thrilled about this but we’ll see where it goes,” he chose to pick up an hammer and start swinging.

Experienced and savvy reporter that he is, Turque took full advantage of Schulte’s temperamental lapse. Turque charged onto the front page Thursday with a story under the headline: “City manager defies council pressure.”

Very wisely, Turque wasted no time getting to the most explosive of Schulte’s quotes:

“If the core issue is, quite honestly, that they don’t like my management style or where they think I’m taking the organization, that’s easy. That’s seven signatures on the paper with the mayor and nine without the mayor, and I’m gone tomorrow. I’ll earn more money and sleep better at night. Life’s too short.”

Wow…As a former reporter, I’ll tell you, you don’t often get quotes like that handed to you on a platter. It’s strictly a gift from God and something not to be passed up. And yet in the hands of a less experienced, less finely attuned reporter and writer, it could easily have been fumbled. A lesser reporter could have failed to recognize that it was not only a money quote but, more important, it represented the eruption of the long-simmering divide between the pro-Sly and anti-Sly council factions.

Turque saw it for all it was and leapt. As a result of his perspicacity, we now have what we in the news business refer to as “a story with legs.”

Turque scored a good follow-up in today’s paper, with Schulte allowing as how he wished he hadn’t vented his frustration to Turque, and the editorial board jumped in the breach, saying firing Schulte “would be a mistake.” Looking farther ahead, though, this eruption paves the way for more stories exploring the divide between the two council factions. In fact, that divide could now become the defining element of the last 18 months of James’ second and last mayoral term.

…This story is a seminal development on the local journalistic front, too. It tends to validate Turque’s appointment to the city beat and also ease any misgivings regular readers may have had about Lynn Horsley’s displacement.

Frankly, Turque came in under a bit of a cloud. Although hailing from one of the two best papers in the country — The Washington Post — his appointment was met with mumblings of discontent among some former Star reporters and editors because nepotism was at the root of his hiring: Early this year, The Star hired his wife, Melinda Henneberger, as an Op-Ed columnist and editorial writer.

No less than the recently departed, former reporter Laura Hockaday denounced Turque’s hiring — in so many words — on this blog back in August. To my post about a “package deal at 18th and Grand,” Laura appended this comment:

“Taking Lynn Horsley away from City Hall, where she has worked her tail off for The Star for years, leaves a tragic void. She is a heroine and a real trooper for staying on and covering Johnson County politics. As you indicated, it (Johnson County) will be covered by a pro who has no peer.”

If you knew Laura, you know she was lashing out in frustration because of her tremendous loyalty to long-serving KC Star colleagues, many of whom were her friends. She probably didn’t know Turque, or didn’t know him very well, even though he served an earlier, four-year stint at The Star from 1977 to 1981.

I think if Laura was with us today, she would rescind her words about “a tragic void” and would acknowledge that Turque produced a damn good story this week.

That’s not taking anything away from Lynn, whom all of us former editorial KC Star staff members love and admire. But I think it’s safe to say, now, it appears likely we’re going to continue getting first-rate coverage of City Hall from The Star.

Congratulations, Bill! Great story.

We had a wonderful event in the Brookside area today — the rededication of the Sea Horse Fountain at Meyer Circle.

It was the culmination of a bi-state, public-private partnership that led to a $900,000 renovation of the venerable fountain, as well as a successful drive for a $350,000-plus endowment to help maintain the fountain in the future.

But as glorious an occasion — and beautiful day — as this was, Brookside was in a state of upheaval and unease. Because, as most of you know by know, shortly after 8 a.m. today, a 39-year-old lawyer was shot down, execution style, outside his home near 66th Terrace and Brookside Road, between Main and Wornall.

Thomas Pickert

The lawyer, Thomas Pickert, had walked his two sons to school — not sure which school — and had returned home. “It appears that our victim was sitting on his front porch of his residence when he was shot,” police spokeswoman Sgt. Kari Thompson was quoted as saying. “The victim’s spouse heard something and came out and discovered her spouse on the ground.”

This murder — again as most of you know by now — was not random. The Star’s story provides the backdrop for this most unusual occurrence:

“Pickert won a $5.75 million judgment this summer against a businessman who had shot a homeless man on his property. Last week, Jackson County court officials started the process of seizing the man’s real estate to pay the judgment. The court filed paperwork that would prevent the man from selling or transferring the property.

“On Tuesday, the court sent the man’s attorney notice of its actions. The real estate to be seized for the judgment were the man’s business building and a home.”

Another extremely unusual thing about this case — besides occurring in quiet, upscale Brookside: The likely suspect in the murder is a 79-year-old man who owns a significant amount of property — or at least he did back in 2010.

That man is David Jungerman of Raytown. A 1997 Chevy van is registered to him — and that police were looking for — was found this afternoon, but as of this writing Jungerman had not been found.

My wife Patty believes he is dead by now, having committed suicide. Patty’s instincts are good, and I think she’s probably on target.

But before I delve more into Jungerman, let’s consider for a minute the plight of the remaining members of the Pickert family…His wife is a physician at the University of Kansas Health System. As The Star’s story said, she was at home; she hears a shot, or something loud noise, goes outside and finds her husband on the ground, lifeless.

How could a spouse come across a more incredible, horrifying scene, right outside her front door?

Imagine her state of mind and her despair tonight.

And the two sons…Their father walks them to school on a beautiful, fall morning. They part. Surely he smiles at them. Probably waves and says something like, “Have fun; I love you.”

Within half an hour, he’s dead. Sometime soon after that the boys undoubtedly are summoned to the office and picked up by a relative or family friend. Mom — in all likelihood — has to tell them Dad is dead.

Imagine their state of mind — their confusion and horror — not only today but for days, months, probably years to come.

…Now back to the possible shooter.

I regret I have to bring politics into this, but political conservatism  and intolerance are integral elements of Jungerman’s make-up. Fact is he’s a right-wing, gun-totin’ nut.

Proof? Check…

Tonight I found a website called Theodore’s World, that goes by the tag line “The PC Free Zone Gazette is American first and Conservative second. It is never anti-American.”

On June 24, 2010, “Theodore” published a post about Jungerman. “Theodore’s” story begins like this:

“A Missouri man’s sign painted on the side of an empty trailer along U.S. 71 has been torched twice in recent weeks. David Jungerman placed the trailer and sign in his field along the major highway, saying:

“Are you a Producer or Parasite

“Democrats — Party of Parasites”

David Jungerman and his “producer or parasite” message in 2010

I remember that trailer. I either read a story about it or passed it on 71. It was in Bates County, about an hour south of Kansas City.

“Theodore” (there’s nothing I found that explains who is or where he lives) went on to report that Jungerman “farms 6,800 acres of river bottom land” and that he was “a staunch believer in personal responsibility.”

To wit: “In 1990, he and his daughter confronted four teens they caught fishing in a pond on their Raytown land. The boys called them names and threatened them…and one spit on Jungerman’s daughter. Jungerman pulled a snub-nosed .38-caliber and held them until police arrived.”

Undoubtedly to Jungerman’s surprise, however, Raytown police didn’t arrest the boys; they arrested him and charged him with a gun violation.

For his part, Jungerman claimed police took his Rolex watch and never returned it. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge, and five years later he sued the city of Raytown for the value of the watch.

“Theodore” reported that Jungerman prevailed in the lawsuit and won $$9,175.

Now, I don’t care who won the case, and I hope the Raytown cops didn’t steal the watch. My takeaway is even in the context of “Theodore’s” sympathetic report, Jungerman clearly does not handle disputes well.

Oh, and about that case where Pickert, the lawyer from Brookside, won the $5.75 million verdict against Jungerman…More backdrop from The Star:

“The lawsuit stemmed from a 3 a.m. shooting on the man’s warehouse property in 2012. A homeless man tripped an alarm on the property and the owner responded. He shot the man, causing him to have his leg amputated, according to a story in Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

“During his closing argument in the case, Pickert gave an emotional argument for a jury verdict against the 79-year-old man for the shooting (saying), ‘A verdict for (Jungerman) is giving him and others like him permission to take the law into their own hands, to be judge, jury and executioner…That’s not the way our society works.’ “

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case: Right-wing, fuckin’ nut job.