Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced Wednesday, September 30, that Alejandro Guillen-Molina, 27, had been formally charged with second-degree murder in the September 16 shooting death of James Heberling, 34. Police say the shooting followed an argument over stolen bicycles at a fenced, grassy lot near 14th Street and Askew Avenue.
Kansas City Police Department officers were called to the area at 8:20 p.m. on September 16, according to KCTV5. Earlier reporting from Hays Post said officers were first dispatched to a shooting call in the 3600 block of Truman Road. They searched the surrounding neighborhood and found Heberling unresponsive several blocks away, in the 1400 block of Askew Avenue. He had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency crews, the station reported.
Witness Describes Accusations Over Stolen Bikes Before Gunfire
According to the witness account reported by KCTV5, the argument involved Guillen-Molina accusing Heberling and others of stealing his bicycles and plotting against him. The witness told investigators she heard six shots—five, followed by a sixth—and saw Heberling holding his hands up while Guillen-Molina stood over him with a black handgun.
The witness also reported that Guillen-Molina said “shhh” and then told Heberling “come here” in Spanish, according to the station. She later identified Guillen-Molina in police photos, noting tattoos on his chest and stomach.
Arrest at Benton Boulevard Home Turns Up Multiple Weapons
KCTV5 reported that officers found Guillen-Molina at a home on Benton Boulevard, where he dropped a shotgun onto the front steps before being arrested without incident. Police recovered a semi-automatic handgun loaded with nine rounds and live ammunition in a wagon he was pulling. Crime scene technicians also found two spent 9 mm shell casings, a spent bullet and 11 live rounds of 9 mm ammunition, according to the report.
During questioning, Guillen-Molina denied knowing Heberling, being at the shooting scene or taking part in an altercation, the station reported. He denied owning the recovered firearms, saying they were already at the address when he arrived. He acknowledged handling both weapons and said his DNA would likely be found on them.
Charges Carry Decades-Long Exposure Under Missouri Law
Guillen-Molina is being held at the Jackson County Detention Center on a $200,000 cash bond, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 14 at 1 p.m. Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 565.021, second-degree murder is classified as a Class A felony carrying a mandatory prison sentence of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment, according to Rose Legal Services.
If prosecutors add a weapons enhancement, Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.015 allows for an additional Armed Criminal Action charge carrying a consecutive sentence of 3 to 15 years, with no eligibility for probation or parole during the first three years, per Combs Waterkotte. The case is being prosecuted by Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson, who took office in January 2025 after previously serving as director of public safety for Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, according to Flatland KC.
Case Fits Citywide Pattern of Arguments Turning Deadly
Any suspect arrested without a warrant, like Guillen-Molina, must be formally charged within 24 hours under Missouri Revised Statutes § 544.170 or released, as Hoodline previously reported. The shooting location near 14th Street and Askew Avenue falls within KCPD's East Patrol Division, headquartered at the Leon Mercer Jordan Campus at 2640 Prospect Avenue.
Kansas City recorded 95 homicides through mid-September 2026, a decrease from the 116 recorded during the same period in 2025. Still, KCPD homicide tracking data through mid-September showed that verbal arguments remained the leading contributing factor in city homicides, accounting for 44 of the 95 recorded fatalities — a pattern the bicycle dispute that led to Heberling's death appears to fit.
Violence Prevention and Other Disputes
Kansas City’s East Patrol area has a violence-prevention program focused on reducing retaliatory violence. The Kansas City Police Department’s violence-prevention guide describes Aim4Peace as a public-health initiative that works in the community and in hospitals; the guide does not indicate that the program was involved in this case. Other Kansas City cases have involved fatal confrontations over alleged property theft. In a separate incident, a February 16, 2026, confrontation at East 31st Street and Brighton Avenue over a vehicle one man believed had been stolen ended in a fatal shooting, KCTV5 reported. That case involved a vehicle dispute, rather than the bicycle dispute alleged in Heberling’s death.
James Walker Heberling was born on February 22, 1992, and was 34 years old at the time of his death. He is survived by his parents, John Heberling and Angela Porter, according to a Legacy tribute. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers at 816-474-TIPS (8477), where tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
