KC man not guilty in killing of former Oklahoma State basketball player Royce Jeffries

A 45-year-old Kansas City man was found not guilty Monday in the 2015 killing of a former Oklahoma State basketball player who was shot while working security at a bar.

Carlton Glynn went to trial last week, accused of emptying a handgun through the front door of the bar, killing Royce Jeffries, 46. Glynn was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of assault and three counts of armed criminal action.

A Jackson County jury found Glynn not guilty on all counts after 11 hours of deliberation, according to Glynn’s attorney, Dan Ross.

The shooting occurred early Sunday morning on Sept. 20, 2015. Jeffries was working at Bob’s N Motion near 57th Street and Troost Avenue when someone opened fire into the bar, killing him and injuring two other people.

In December 2015, prosecutors charged Glynn in the shooting. At trial last week, the prosecution’s evidence included surveillance video and three positive identification witnesses, according to Ross.

The defense argued that Glynn was wrongly identified as the shooter. Ross said that Glynn was at the bar the night of the shooting, attending a birthday party, and had been one of numerous people Jeffries ejected from the bar for fighting.

Ross said that when Glynn returned to the bar looking for his keys, another person stuck a gun through the front door and fired nearly a dozen bullets within a couple of seconds.

Michael Mansur, a spokesman for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office, said Tuesday he couldn’t say whether prosecutors would ask police to investigate further.

“We’re always willing to review,” Mansur wrote in an email. “And for another defendant there is no statute of limitations.”

The case is still open, according to Capt. Stacey Graves, a Kansas City Police Department spokeswoman. Detectives have said they have more than one suspect in this case and continue to investigate.

Co-workers described Jeffries as a kind, gentle man who would talk people down from fights. He had worked at the bar for about a year.

Jeffries played basketball at Oklahoma State from 1986 to 1990, spending four seasons under head coach Leonard Hamilton and assistant coach Bill Self, now the head coach at Kansas. Jeffries, who stood 6 feet 6 and was known for his rugged play in the paint, averaged 13.1 points per game as a senior.

During his stay at the school, he starred alongside future NBA guards John Starks and Byron Houston.