Shooting victim in critical condition
By an eyewitness account, it appears to be a $20 drug deal with horrible consequences.
A woman is in custody in the Platte County Jail with charges associated with a Wednesday, Dec. 30 drug-related shooting at a Riverside park, while a case against the alleged shooter, a juvenile who according to court documents is believed to be her son, is being handled by the Platte County Juvenile Office.
The adult facing charges is Carlotta E. Palmer, age 45, of Kansas City in Platte County. She is charged with two felony counts of tampering with physical evidence and one felony count of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly aiding the shooter, identified in court documents as being less than 17 years old, to “engage in conduct constituting the offense of possession of a controlled substance.”
The victim is identified as a 17-year-old girl who was reported to be in critical condition following the shooting that took place at about 11:55 a.m. at Homestead Park in the 4800 block of NW Homestead Road, Riverside.
Palmer’s two charges of tampering with physical evidence are related to allegedly concealing the gun used in the shooting and also for allegedly deleting text messages between her and the alleged shooter with the purpose to impair their availability in an investigation.
Palmer is being held on a $250,000 cash-only bond. If she does post bond, conditions will include no possession of illegal substances, GPS monitoring, a drug patch upon release, and no contact with the shooting victim, no contact with the alleged shooter or with a juvenile witness who is also referred to as a victim in court documents.
According to court documents, at about 11:55 a.m. on Dec. 30, Riverside police received multiple 911 calls in regard to a shot being fired and an unknown person lying in the parking lot of Homestead Park, near the intersection of NW Homestead Terrace and NW Homestead Road. Court documents indicate the victim appeared to be bleeding on the ground and the vehicle that had been parked near that location was last seen speeding away. The victim, with a gunshot wound to the head, was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
Police say investigation revealed the suspect vehicle to be a beige 1998 Toyota Camry.
According to court documents, the day after the shooting Riverside police observed the vehicle being driven by the juvenile suspect’s mother, who according to court documents is Carlotta E. Palmer. Palmer willing responded to police headquarters for an interview and further evidence of blood was located on the cloth front passenger set, as well as on paperwork located on the front passenger floorboard, according to charging documents.
According to the probable cause statement, on Jan. 1 police interviewed a teenager who says she was a passenger in the back seat of the vehicle at the time of the shooting. The witness says Palmer was driving and the alleged shooter was in the passenger front seat. Palmer was driving to meet the victim to purchase three grams of marijuana for $20.
The witness says when the victim came to give them the marijuana, she only had two grams. The witness says Palmer and the alleged shooter did not want to pay the full amount for only two grams. The alleged shooter and the victim got into an argument over the drug transaction and the witness says she observed the alleged shooter open the passenger front door, pushing the victim away from the vehicle and confront the victim face to face. A struggle ensued and the witness says she heard a loud bang. The alleged shooter got back in the car and Palmer drove them back to their residence on Roanridge.
The witness says Palmer was hitting the alleged shooter as they were driving away, and told him that he was a man and he didn’t have to shoot the victim.
The witness told authorities that Palmer regularly drives the alleged shooter and her to meet the victim to purchase marijuana. The witness told police that both Palmer and the alleged shooter told her to lie about the incident.