Man charged in deaths of Kansas City officer and pedestrian has a past record of careless driving

By Andy Alcock

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — The man currently facing two manslaughter charges for the deaths of Kansas City Police Officer James Muhlbauer and pedestrian Jesse Eckes pleaded guilty to careless driving less than two months before the fatal crash.

Court records claim Jerron Lightfoot, 19, was driving nearly 90 miles per hour just two seconds before he ran a red light heading south on Benton at the intersection of Truman and crashed into Officer Muhlbauer’s police cruiser on Feb. 15, 2023.

Records exclusively obtained by KMBC Investigates show Lightfoot was cited by a Tonganoxie police officer last August for not having a valid driver’s license and careless driving.

Based on Kansas state law, the police narrative of what happened at West and Third Street in Tonganoxie on Aug. 3 was not provided.

Careless Driving in the Tonganoxie Municipal Code is defined as driving “in a careless or heedless manner or in an inattentive manner or without due caution or circumstances.”

Records show before the case went to court, per Tonganoxie Police Chief Greg Lawson, “defendant needs to plea as to what is charged, nothing amended as they already cut many breaks for him.”

Chief Lawson declined to elaborate on that court document statement, citing the pending Kansas City case against Lightfoot.

In December, the prosecutor dropped the No Valid Driver’s License charge, and Lightfoot pleaded guilty to Careless Driving.

He was fined $60.

Less than two months later, Lightfoot was involved in the fatal Kansas City crash.

“Some might say that he just didn’t learn his lesson and didn’t take the prior conviction seriously,” Henry Service, a Kansas City attorney not involved in either Lightfoot case, said.

Service has worked as both a prosecutor and defense attorney.

He said, based on Missouri law, it’s unlikely Lightfoot’s careless driving guilty plea in Tonganoxie will be brought up in his current manslaughter case at trial.

“What they’re trying to do is they’re trying to prevent prejudice to a jury to think well he did it before, then he must have done it again,” Service said.

However, Service also said if a wrongful death lawsuit is brought against Lightfoot, the Tonganoxie careless driving case could be used.

Lightfoot is currently out of jail after posting 10% of a $30,000 bond or $3,000 in a two-count manslaughter case against him.

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