No Indictments in Two Deaths after Dispute over Firewood in Platte County
PARKVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A grand jury has declined to indict a man who shot and killed two other men after a dispute involving about $200 in firewood, Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said Wednesday.
Kalob Lawson, 34, of Kimberling City, and Jonathan Lutz, 44, of Kansas City, were shot on Feb. 10 in Parkville.
Lawson and Lutz were paid $200 to deliver a cord of firewood to a Platte County home. As they and another man were unloading the wood, the homeowner left. The men then left without delivering the full cord of wood, Zahnd said.
The homeowner’s 22-year-old son called his father and then chased Lawson and Lutz in his vehicle. Witnesses said Lawson and Lutz eventually stopped and got out of the vehicle, and Lawson was armed with a 9mm handgun, Zahnd said.
After Lawson threatened the son with the gun, the son retrieved a gun from his car and fired several times, Zahnd said. Lawson died at the scene and Lutz died later at a hospital.
The son returned home, called 911 and voluntarily surrendered.
Zahnd said Missouri’s “stand your ground” law allows people to use deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to protect themselves against death or serious physical injury.