Mother relieved son’s suspected killer is facing charges after fatal shooting last year
By Emily Rittman
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — A Kansas City mother says that, after waiting more than a year, she is relieved her son’s suspected killer is facing charges for a deadly shooting near 19th and Vine on Sept. 8, 2021.
Her son, Mortez Falkner, was killed minutes after his 32nd birthday.
On Sept. 23 of this year, prosecutors charged Cleon D. White with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon in connection with Mortez’s homicide.
Hours before the shooting, Nyree Falkner and her family celebrated Mortez’s birthday with a dinner on The Plaza. They took their last pictures together. She watched him walk away alive and happy for the last time.
“He was extremely happy. He literally was glowing,” Nyree Falkner said. “He told me that was one of the best birthdays he had ever had.”
Her son then visited a business to continue celebrating near 19th and Vine.
“He ended up coming here and he ended up losing his life,” Falkner said. “I truly believe that this person that murdered my child knew it was his birthday.”
Court records show that, during the homicide investigation, police found surveillance video of the shooting. They then checked city traffic cameras, some of which have license plate readers, to track the route the suspect vehicle took before and after the shooting.
Investigators said they discovered that, as Falkner’s son posted photos of his birthday celebrations on social media, the suspect’s vehicle was spotted outside of some of those locations by city surveillance cameras.
“Within minutes of the post, the suspect vehicle was captured on surveillance video traveling in the area where the social media posts indicated he had been celebrating,” an investigator wrote in court documents.
According to court records, DNA found on shell casings at the crime scene and DNA found on the suspect vehicle steering wheel matched White’s DNA.
Falkner said waiting to see charges filed for her son’s death nearly broke her faith in the criminal justice system.
“He was my best friend. He literally taught me how to love. He loved me unconditionally,” Falkner said of her son. “We had a bond that was not to be broken. It’s been hell. It’s been hell.”
She said she has prayed for justice for more than a year.
“I prayed the night before they called me and told me that they picked him up. I literally begged God the night before. I begged him,” Falkner said. “I screamed. I begged him and he heard me. He is in jail.”
White is currently held without bond for Falkner’s homicide. “I’m blessed because it only took a year,” Falkner said. “It could have taken five or six or seven or 10, but it took a year for me to get justice for my baby.”
White was previously charged in April of this year for a separate Aug. 25, 2020, double homicide that killed 18-year-old Jahmiere Green and 22-year-old Brandon Rainey near the East Bottoms. He posted bond in that case and was placed on total lockdown house arrest. According to court records, he violated his bond conditions by leaving his home for more than three hours in June of this year.
Falkner hopes he continues to be held without bond for her son’s homicide, considering his prior charges and violation of bond conditions.
“Yes, I pray to God that it sticks because, I mean, you let him out the first time and he went against his orders. And so, you let him out this time, then what?” Falkner questioned.
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