KANSAS CITY/INDEPENDENCE, MO (KCTV) — KCTV5 has learned that Cody Harrison, the suspect in the fatal shooting of Independence police officer Blaize Madrid-Evans was recently arrested by KCPD with a handgun on September 2nd.
He was released after 24 hours, according to Missouri law, and did not face charges yet.
A felon in possession of a weapon is a class C felony and punishable by 3-10 years in prison.
The Jackson County prosecutor tells KCTV5 she received a probable cause statement on September 9th.
Harrison currently faced other charges which include burglary and stealing. He was out on bond for the burglary and on parole for a previous conviction.
That previous felony conviction also involved a weapon. He was convicted in 2011 for shooting at or from a motor vehicle and spent time in state prison.
KCTV5’s Investigative Team also requested police reports from area agencies.
KCTV5 received a report from Grain Valley where Harrison faced a burglary charge for allegedly stealing from a former employer. That report included a chilling warning.
“It should be noted, Cody is known to always be armed with a firearm,” the officer wrote.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt tweeted about the case.
2011 he was sentenced to 15 yrs. Served less than half.June ‘20 arrested for armed robbery—Jean Peters Baker declined to prosecute. July ‘21 arrested for burglary 2d—released no conditions. Sept ‘21 arrested again—no charges. This guy shouldn’t have been on the streets. https://t.co/G4NaQoss4B
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) September 16, 2021
After being contacted by KCTV5, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office released the following statement in regards to the fatal shooting and local media coverage:
Contrary to early reporting, the Jackson County prosecutor’s office had not declined to prosecute or file a case against Cody Harrison was out of jail when he shot an Independence Police officer this week.
In fact, a warrant for Cody Harrison’s arrest was issued on Sept. 13, 2021, after he failed to appear for a hearing in late August in a criminal case initiated in February 2021. We requested that arrest warrant.
In that case, Harrison was charged with burglary 2nd Degree and Stealing for a Grain Valley, MO, crime. At the time we filed that case, our office’s original request was for a bond of $10,000/10 percent, which is within the state Supreme Court’s bond guidelines. The court, however, issued the $6,000/10 percent bond and it was later reduced by the court to an ROR bond (Release on his own recognizance).
In addition, Kansas City police submitted to us on Sept. 7 (received by our office on Sept. 9) a new case on Harrison for earlier that month (Sept. 2) carrying a firearm which he was prohibited to carry because he was a convicted felon. That case was under review for charging in our office.
Though arrested on Sept.2, we did not receive the case until Sept. 9, when Harrison had been out of custody for days.
Harrison was convicted in 2011 in Clay County of Unlawful Use of A Weapon and sentenced to 15 years in prison. It’s our understanding that he was on parole out of Clay County for that conviction.
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