KANSAS CITY, MO –LeGend Taliferro was shot and killed earlier this year. The 4-year-old’s death literally caused President Trump and US Attorney General William Barr to start a federal operation in his honor.
Now, we learn that the accused killer, Ryson Ellis, has plead not guilty to second-degree murder.
Credit Jackson County Detention Center
Ellis has been in jail at the Jackson County Detention Center without bond since his arrest. On top of second-degree murder charges, he is also criminally charged with unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action.
Breaking: @realDonaldTrump announces the killer of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, the namesake of Operation Legend, has been arrested and charged with murder. #AmericaFirst #MAGA #Dobbs pic.twitter.com/S8YIlqAThR
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) August 13, 2020
At his arraignment, Ellis appeared in front of the Judge at Jackson County Courthouse in order to enter his plea. Of course, as expected, when he stood in front of the judge (via video) he plead not guilty of the sickening crime.
Taliferro’s death started a nationwide effort at tracking down known violent offenders and taking them into custody before they commit more crimes. The Operation, run by the Department of Justice, was named Operation Legend.
Taliferro was sleeping on the floor in his father’s apartment on June 29th when someone fired into the residence at the Citadel Apartments. The person fired gunshots into the apartment from an area behind it and fled.
Witnesses reported seeing a black male with facial hair on his chin and a “fade cut.” This information was found to match how Ellis looks.
In addition, court records show that a woman who was in the apartment at the time had been allegedly assaulted by Ellis a few days prior to the shooting. She also claimed that she had received threatening messages from him on social media.
The alleged assault, which happened before the shooting, caused a confrontation between the woman’s family, Taliferro’s father, and Ellis.
Video surveillance that was in the area of the shooting captured a vehicle which police believed was involved in the crime. Through investigative efforts, they were able to identify the vehicle and learned who it was rented to, as well as it had been rented from June 23rd until July 3rd.
Police were able to locate another woman who later alleged that she had driven Ellis near the apartment complex on the night of the shooting. She alleges that she let him out at the rear of the complex and heard gunshots shortly afterward. Once the shots were fired, she allegedly saw Ellis running back to the car.
The woman claimed that she did not know that Ellis had shot anyone. It was not until later that she found out someone had died that night.
Quinton Lucas, the Mayor of Kansas City, tweeted after the arrest:
“While my heart continues to break for LeGend’s family, I am thankful that today an important step towards justice has been taken. Thank you for the hard investigative work of the women and men of law enforcement and the prosecutors with a heavy task at hand.”
US Attorney General William Barr said:
“Today’s arrest of LeGend Taliferro’s suspected murderer marks a significant step forward in his case and illustrates the potential of Operation LeGend more broadly. The arrest and state charges resulted from cooperation among Kansas City police officers, the FBI, and US Marshals.
“This development is a model for joint efforts to solve crimes and reduce violence in other cities. I thank the state and local law enforcement officers who helped make possible this important step in bringing justice to LeGend, to his family, and to his community.”
Barr later added:
“Although LeGend’s suspected murderer has been arrested, Operation LeGend will go on. Inspired by this success, federal law enforcement will continue working tirelessly to support state and local partners in our shared mission to keep the American people safe and enforce the rule of law.”
In a current example of personal politics infiltrating what should be a celebration of a successful law enforcement endeavor, the Chicago Police declined to attend the announcement hosted by Attorney General Bill Barr on the recent arrests linked to Operation Legend.
Chicago Police Declined Invite to Join Announcement of ‘Operation Legend’ Arrests, Feds Say https://t.co/TkF5zVEBUy pic.twitter.com/joP9hFLakd
— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) September 9, 2020
Operation Legend started in Kansas City, Missouri, in July and has since spread to other cities like Chicago, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Memphis and Indianapolis. The purpose of said operation is for federal authorities to assist local police in combatting violent crime.
In Chicago, AG Barr was alongside U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch on September 9th to announce the over-500 arrests linked to Operation Legend. Members from the Chicago Police Department were also invited but were absent from the announcement.
AG BARR: 500 arrested as part of Operation Legend in Chicago
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) September 10, 2020
Considering the glaring absenteeism from the CPD at said announcement, AG Barr was of course asked about said absence.
AG Barr responded as follows:
“They were certainly invited and could have attended but one of the odd things about our program in this city are, you know, some of the politics involved and I’m sure that was an element of it.”
By politics, AG Barr was essentially pointing to folks such as Mayor Lori Lightfoot and key members of the CPD’s upper hierarchy not particularly being a fan of President Trump and by default those among his circle.
AG Barr continued on that note, saying:
“I think you’ll have to ask the mayor and the police chief.”
Mayor Lighfoot confirmed those suspicions raised by AG Barr recently in a letter that stated the following:
“It was politics that made us decide not to be there.”
AG Barr noted that since the launching of Operation Legend, Chicago has seen a 45% decrease in murders in August when stacked up against the month of July and also July saw a decrease in murders by 35% when stacked up against the month of June.
Interestingly enough, Mayor Lightfoot and Superintendent David Brown from the CPD also recently highlighted those statistics – however, they failed to afford any credit to the presence of federal law enforcement or Operation Legend in those achieved decreases in murder.
“Barr said Chicago saw a 45% decrease in murders in August as compared to July and a 35% decrease since June – figures both Brown and Mayor Lori Lightfoot touted separately, without crediting federal law enforcement, in news conferences the day before.”https://t.co/BJY7ROPNB2
— mother of all perspectives (@lmcgrew) September 9, 2020
Of course, AG Barr commented on that narrative delivered by the mayor and the police superintendent that failed to mention any contributions by federal law enforcement:
“I know that the city has put out information about the drop in crime and is crediting a number of factors. Absent among those factors is the federal contribution… That’s just the way things roll in Chicago.”
Mayor Lightfoot noted that while the assistance rendered by federal law enforcement is beneficial to the city, she also isn’t wanting any credit delivered prematurely:
“I don’t think it’s accurate to say there is a direct cause and effect…[one month is] not enough time to make a significant impact… The partnership is important and it is strong, but nobody should be taking a victory lap.”
Those present at the announcement of Operation Legend’s arrests then asked if there was any sort of “disconnect” between federal authorities and local law enforcement in Chicago.
AG Barr responded with the following:
“I’m not focused on those aspects of it. I’m focused on the law enforcement working together, the professional law enforcement approach and actually getting the job done. Politicians can do what they want to do.”
U.S. Attorney Lausch provided further clarification on that notion, explaining that when it comes to law enforcement agencies collaborating with one another, there hasn’t been any sort of disconnect:
“We work together all the time, they’re very supportive of all of our efforts and we’re thrilled to help them fight violent crime. Law enforcement to law enforcement level, things are going very well.”
Thanks in part to Operation Legend, Chicago’s murder rate has been cut roughly in HALF and over 500 have been arrested.
Let this be a message to criminals: Under @realDonaldTrump’s leadership, violence will not stand.https://t.co/cSW7cDWtPu
— Senator Kelly Loeffler (@SenatorLoeffler) September 10, 2020
During the same announcement, AG Barr took time to also mention that while homicides are down, certain crimes were on the rise due to the likes of violent protests linked to Antifa and Black Lives Matter:
“With the incident with George Floyd and the attacks on the police and the demonization of police and discussion of defunding, we saw sharp increases [in violence] in cities like Chicago.”
He credited that with the launching of Operation Legend, the city is becoming safer and things are returning to a sense of normalcy in Chicago:
“Operation Legend is working. Crime is down and order is being restored in this great American city.”
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