Records: Violent past for owner of van seen speeding from Kansas City homicide scene
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The man who owns the van seen speeding away from the scene of the fatal shooting of a Kansas City attorney has been accused of shooting four people and threatening another with a gun, reports CBS affiliate KCTV.
Tom Pickert was found shot to death on his front porch around 8 a.m. on Wednesday. Police say that a white van was seen speeding away from the scene and later found, without a driver, in the area. The van is registered to David Jungerman, a local business owner who had recently been ordered to pay more than $5 million to Jeffrey Harris, a client of Pickert's who Jungerman shot in the leg in 2012.
Police told CBS News' Crimesider on Thursday that Jungerman isn't a suspect in Pickert's death, but KCTV reports that he was accused of shooting four people in a single month in 2012.
In September 2012, Jungerman shot Harris and another homeless man who was seeking shelter outside of his business under a covered loading dock.
A snippet of deposition of that case:
Pickert: "There were five shell casings and three hits."
Jungerman: That's pretty good from the hip isn't, it? [laughter] That's lucky shooting, isn't it?"
Harris had an above-the-knee leg amputation after he was shot. Jungerman claimed it was a self-defense shooting but in July a jury decided Jungerman must pay Harris a $5.75 million civil judgment. Pickert helped Harris win that settlement.
Just 26 days after the Harris shooting, Jungerman was accused of shooting two other men that he found on his property. One of the men, Justin Baker, is suing Jungerman in a separate case.
A police report for that shooting reportedly shows that when an officer arrived and asked Jungerman if he was the shooter, the officer said, "Jungerman looked at me with a slight smirk, shrugged his shoulders and walked away."
Jungerman is also reportedly facing harassment and first-degree attempted burglary charges in an unrelated case from June 2016. The station reports court records show that instead of going through the legal eviction process, he kicked down the door of a rental property he owned and said, "When you getting out, mother-----?" while holding onto a loaded gun in his waistband.
KCTV reports that Jungerman was served garnishment documents the day before Pickert's shooting death.
