(News release) – A second man has been charged with the November 1, 2014 murder of Francisco Vargas III in Platte County.
Kevin Joseph Hardin, 30, of Kansas City, Kansas, is accused of acting alone or with others in shooting Vargas to death at Vargas’ house on Twin Springs Road. Zakary F. Mergy was charged with Vargas’ murder in 2014; his case is still awaiting trial.
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said the charges against Hardin were filed August 11.
“In 2014, we alleged Zakary Mergy may have had a partner in his crimes,” Zahnd said. “We have now charged Kevin Hardin with being that person.”
According to court documents, on November 1, 2014, a friend and family members of Vargas found him dead in his home, where he had been shot several times. Vargas was selling drugs, primarily marijuana, from the house, according to several witnesses. 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.
During the course of the investigation, investigators obtained cell phone records and historical cell tower site records. Hardin’s and Mergy’s cell phone records allegedly indicate that both of their phones were in the immediate proximity of the Vargas’ residence at the time of the murder.
When interviewed by detectives, however, Hardin allegedly said he had earlier left the area of Vargas’ residence.
Mergy allegedly told detectives that Hardin admitted to Mergy that he had killed Vargas. Hardin also allegedly told Mergy to get rid of the murder weapon, a handgun.
Investigators recovered a handgun buried in Mergy’s mother’s back yard. Court documents indicate that the Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory found a fingerprint on the gun’s magazine allegedly matching Hardin. In addition, cartridge cases and bullets recovered at the crime scene were allegedly fired from that gun. And DNA test results allegedly show Mergy as the major contributor and Hardin as the minor contributor of the DNA found on the gun.
Hardin 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 Police Crime Laboratory. It is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Mark Gibson and Hannah Herring.