KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 34-year-old man is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of three people in Kansas City. Jackson County (Missouri) prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the charges Wednesday against Brandon Howell. He also faces charges of first-degree assault, burglary, car theft and felon in possession of a firearm for critically injuring two others. Police also said Howell assaulted three people at a north-side motel. Howell is being held in the Jackson County jail. Kansas court records show he was paroled in 2011 after a conviction for a home invasion in Johnson County, Kansas. Baker said 88-year-old Alice Hurst, 63-year-old son Darrel Hurst and 69-year-old Susan Choucroun were killed during an attempted car theft. An SUV that went missing from the scene of the shootings was found near the motel.
The Platte County prosecutor on Wednesday also charged Howell with burglary, three counts of assault and other offenses. Investigators said Howell punched three guests Tuesday afternoon at a Motel 6 in a section of northern Kansas City that lies in Platte County. Howell was arrested shortly before midnight Tuesday in northern Kansas City. Police said two of the motel guests identified Howell from a lineup.