Kansas City man pleads guilty to deadly shooting outside liquor store

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A metro man pleaded guilty to a deadly shooting outside a liquor store.

Jhermeil R. Taylor pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 2019 shooting.

According to court documents, police responded to Cloud 9 Liquor store near East 87th Street and Oldham Road. The call for help came in shortly before midnight on Nov. 15, 2019.

When officers arrived, they found a man identified as Gerald D. Berry lying on the ground in the parking lot, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to an area hospital where he died from his injuries.

Surveillance video from the store showed a man in a yellow sweatshirt, later identified as Taylor, in an argument with another man, court records say.

Berry is seen raising his hand to diffuse the situation, then he allegedly throws a punch at Taylor. Taylor then pulls a gun and shoots the victim, according to court documents. As Taylor runs away, the victim pulls a handgun and fires toward Taylor, who allegedly fires more shots at the victim before he drives away.

A witness told police at the time Taylor was threatening everyone and Barry was trying to calm the situation.