Here we go again…
Murder @ The OK Biker Corral
1917 Prospect was the scene of multiple shootings in the wee hours of Sunday morning as the “private club” hosted a party to celebrate a rappers release from jail. The rapper dude wasn’t present and many didn’t even know the event was connected to his release. One man was killed, a teenage girl remains on life support and seven others were injured.
I use the term “private club,” as that’s how it’s being identified in the news, but it’s really the home base of the Redline Riders, an inner city, primarily black biker club. There are several black clubs in the area but Redline appears to be the most notable. And from all I can tell after looking into these guys all week, they’re a group of stand-up guys using their interest in bikes to promote positive youth activity in the inner city. And they’re deeply involved in attempting to make a difference and support nonviolence.
So I’ve reached out to the club President and Sargent at Arms in an effort to meet with them personally and get their side of the story as I don’t think they are getting a fair shake in the media. This seems to me to be a case being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they are catching a bad rap for it.
Where the city may have them however is that they host private parties and charge a cover or allow “donations” for beer costs which brings them under liquor license scrutiny.
Also, the building has a fire code occupancy of 49, but on this particular night about 250 people were there and poured into the street when the shooting started. Thus, a single gunshot in any direction makes it likely that someone’s gonna get hit given such a small space.
In any case, it was enough to piss off the Jackson County Drug Abatement Response Team (there’s a great name for you) which, in turn, drug out the city code inspectors and the fire marshal Tuesday. They want these guys so bad, but all they could come up with was seven really minor code violations, including the storage of a gas can inside the building and – sin of sins – a wall plug that didn’t have a cover on it. So that’s how the city’s going about fixing things.
Nicely played.
The fire marshal killed the power to the building until the owner corrects the problems which would take about 10 minutes from what I can tell. The owner isn’t likely to let Redline come back to the building at this point. And detectives are trying to determine who and what started the shoot out and think only two shooters were involved.
My bet is they won’t find Redline guys who pulled the triggers.
Police continue to look for witnesses and unlike most inner city shootings, people actually talked to the cops.
These guys have a good message and a good mission. They have a Peace Ride scheduled for the middle of July. That is if it’s not disrupted by this melee.
I’ll be there and more will be coming as things progress.
*******
Last Day of Trading at the Kansas City Board of Trade
With a collective yawn, the Kansas City Board of Trade, our own, local, bread and butter commodities market for over 150 years, trades its last wheat contract locally today. I talked to several of my broker friends and they all agree, the KCBT is another victim of technology, with nearly 90% of the trading done online. No matter how much we hate to see it go, the CME Group bought it for $126 million, will move it to Chi-town but will retain KC in its name.
The price for a seat in this prestigious hall went from half the price of a tank of gas when it opened to nearly $700,000 in 2012. I hate when we lose institutions like this. I understand why and it makes total sense, but history is leaving us in the past as we race into the future.
Chicago gets the KCBT; Kansas City passes Chicago in per capita murders – that’s just not a fair trade.
Aaron Hernandez, the NFL and the Kansas City Murder Rate
Yes, these really are all tied together.
The NFL hosted its rookie symposium this week where they teach new recruits the four principles of playing the game; NFL History, Total Wellness, Experience and Professionalism. At the exact moment it was going on, Hernandez, one of the NFL’s own, who also went to said symposium, was being arrested and arraigned, in North Attleborough, MA for first degree murder.
Now detectives are pouring over rental car receipts and may be about to connect the dots that place him at a drive by shooting where two other people were killed. Things couldn’t be looking much worse for Aaron no matter how lawyered up he is. In other news, his team released him; the least of concerns for this 20-something young man.
I know we think this happens all the time, and while there have been 27 NFL arrests since the Super Bowl, we have to go back 10 years to find a murder charge. The other 26 arrests range from a hand full of violence charges to lots and lots of weed. Lots of weed.
What’s the genesis of this and is 27 really a big number?
There are 1,696 players in the NFL, according to Plunkett Research. Given that, is 27 a lot of arrests? Or is it the name recognition factor that throws it in our face with bullet force on the multiple 24 hour news channels and sports talk radio?
Dove tailed with this story this week, Kansas City comes screeching across the finish line in June with some 50 odd murders, making Chicago look like Happy Town. I’m utterly amazed as I watch Sly James get the Fickle Finger of Fate award as Kansas City’s mayor for “not having done enough” to stop this.
Really; our Mayor hasn’t stopped MURDER yet? The nerve of him.
Like you, I’ve read all the comments; James is more concerned about his toy train, politics and showing his face on the Plaza for Flash Mob Fridays. But I ask you, what’s a MAYOR to do about it?
More gun laws? Chicago has plenty. Put a cop on every corner? I’d bet a lot of money the rate would stay the same and who can afford that?
Why can’t the Mayor fix this? The root cause is a culture of violence in our city, period.
You can’t legislate a change and you can’t pass a law to fix things. We have murder laws, life sentences and death penalties; that should be enough to stop someone, but it’s not.
The only thing that’s going to fix this in the NFL, NBA or in our own inner city is when the people involved rediscover their collective soul, rediscover family values, restore a functioning family unit, respect for authority and some form of self-worth in the individuals that resort to pulling a trigger as the ultimate solution to any problem. Worth and respect not only for themselves but their fellow man, family members and yes, even their enemies.
Mayor Sly, I’ll buy you a cigar at The Pendergast if you’d like to visit about this topic for 15 minutes. You pick the time, I’ll be there. I’m on your side on this and would like to take the story a step further.
Hernandez was and still is a member of the Bloods.
Sounds like the biker deal was a private party that some people rented out the club that got WAY out of hand.
Dangerous business to use your clubhouse as a party place. Maybe they rented it out to others? I know a similar club in Philadelphia, Wheels of Soul. Cleaned up their neighborhood, stores opened again on Market St and the drug dealers vamoosed. Three members recently busted for dealing drugs but the whole club now wears that patch too.
When we do good, no one remembers. When we do wrong, no one forgets is their motto.
Hope you can get them to talk with you.
Remember my FIL telling me of a coworker at Sun Oil who bought wheat futures on the KC Board. Forgot to sell and got a call from the wife about 10 truckloads of wheat that showed up at their door.
The Mare and Shitty Council have shown distain for the people who populate the city. They kowtow to the developers and those who suck the blood from funds intended to give a hand to residents. Aim4Peace and D.A.R.E. and the COMBAT tax only fund the grifting and provide OT for police officers.
That Wheat story is bogus, wild man.
Was a commodities broker for like 14 years – cash grain and futures – and futures contracts to not get delivered to somebody’s door. In all but the rarest of instances no delivery ever takes place. What deliveries do go down are spelled out quite specifically at specific locations.
Locations pre designated by the trade.
Reverse engineer this urban legend. The gentleman in the story had bought a seat of the Philadelphia board. He thought he was the smartest guy in the room and we know how that one goes.
The guys’s history was full of wtf moments so it was easy to believe.
Could he have just been stuck on delivery and then forced to lease silo space? Figure in playing puts and stays into the equation. Guys first time in commodities.
He never denied the story and it seemed to be a Christmas party favorite amongst his coworkers.
Curious that this brief acknowledgement of the KC BoT closing was not written by HC Jr. and didn’t even include a quote from him. It is, after all, the place where Hearne began his working years and where generations of his family made their mark. I’m sure he must have a few memories of the institution that we would find interesting.
The Stomper
Stomper, I couldn’t leave it totally out and knew Hearne would give it a more appropriate wave good bye. Render unto Caesar what is Caesars and stuff like that.
Thanks for you comment.
Someone has cloned me it appears
You want dirt, huh?
You mean, like the time I finally had a girlfriend senior year in high school and got busted by one of the cleaning ladies with her on a couch in the ladies room on the first floor?
That was embarrassing…not to mention kinda annoying.
That’ll teach you, Stomper. No one wants that mental image lodged in their noggin.
Well, as the story goes the Scarecrow was always Dorothy’s favorite of all.
Bingo
Ask and you shall receive
Wait a minute. A party was being thrown for a rapper nobody has ever heard of that was being released from jail. He knew nothing about it and wasn’t there? This is either BS or about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of.
Turk, not all the people at the party knew the original intent of the party. That’s the point. As the evening went on, music and people attracted more people that were just there for the party they stumbled upon. I think the local rapper was most likely there early on, just not at the time of the incident.
Sorry, that along with one other line might have needed some clarification.
I was saying in the piece, I don’t think they will identify any Redline dudes as the shooters. I think it was most likely party attendees and not club members.
As I said, all indications are they are a stand up bunch of guys.
And yeah, they aren’t cruiser riders like me, think they are almost exclusive sport bike riders. Decent group of guys regardless.
Who is the black moto gang/’club” that wears purple gear and drives speedbikes. Are they the rivals of the brothers pictured above?
Like an urban Vandals v. Hells Angels?
If they get their clubhouse taken away, they all should just park their bikes in front of the coffee house in the Plaza and hang out there!
I’ll raise a latte to that!
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