Independence man is charged with murder in the death of a 19-year-old found in a car near I-435

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri (KCTV) – An Independence man has been charged with murder in the death of a 19-year-old found in a car near I-435 on Sunday.

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said Steven B. Rock has been charged in the death of 19-year-old Preston Bell.

Court documents filed Friday said video evidence showed Bell’s vehicle parked at a home when three suspects approached the vehicle. A suspect, later identified as Rock, can be seen on video walking around behind the vehicle, opening the driver’s door and pulling out a person who is not moving.

Rock then placed the victim in the back seat of the vehicle, got into the car and drove away.

READ MORE: Missing 19-year-old, identified as teenager, found shot to death in car on I-435

Kansas City, Missouri, police were dispatched to the area of ​​I-435 and Truman Road on Sunday afternoon. There they found Bell in the car with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to court documents, police told Rock that everyone involved in the fatal shooting would be charged. During a telephone conversation in prison, Rock said: “The others don’t deserve this. Because I am.”

Prosecutors have requested a $250,000 bond for Rock, who is charged with one count of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of abandonment of a corpse.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said abandonment of a body charges have been filed for a second defendant in the case.

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