A Kansas City, Kansas man has been charged with the November 1 murder of Francisco Vargas III in Platte County. Zakary F. Mergy, 27, is accused of acting alone or with others in shooting Vargas to death at Vargas’ house on Twin Springs Road.

Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said charges were filed December 22 following an investigation by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department.

According to court documents, on November 1, a family member of Vargas found him lying face down on the floor of his residence in a large pool of blood. Platte County Sheriff’s Department deputies later determined Vargas had been shot several times.

A neighbor reported seeing a gray vehicle at Vargas’ residence on the day he was shot. Investigators later determined that a 2008 gray Dodge Charger reportedly seen at the house was registered to a relative of Mergy.

Court documents indicate Mergy was interviewed on multiple occasions regarding Vargas’ death. Mergy allegedly admitted he knew Vargas was killed with a Springfield .40 caliber XDM handgun. Mergy allegedly told investigators that he was given the gun by someone following the murder and that he wrapped the gun in several plastic bags before burying it in his mother’s back yard.

Investigators recovered a Springfield .40 caliber XDM handgun from Mergy’s mother’s back yard. Court documents indicate that the Kansas City Regional Crime Lab determined the cartridge cases and bullets recovered at the crime scene were from that gun. DNA test results on the gun, trigger and magazine showed Mergy as the major contributor.

During the execution of a search warrant at Mergy’s residence, investigators found a jar that a witness said he had seen at Vargas’ residence two days before Vargas’ murder.

Mergy was arrested in Kansas City, Kansas and is being held on a $500,000 cash bond. He is charged with second degree murder and armed criminal action. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

The case is being investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department, with the assistance of the Kansas City Regional Crime Laboratory. It is being prosecuted by Zahnd and Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Mark Gibson and Joe Vanover.

The charges against Mergy are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.