Man charged in fatal shooting during eviction in KC area ‘was a recluse,’ neighbors say

Mark Williams’ rural Independence neighborhood is usually quiet — picture horses, big houses and sprawling yards.

On Thursday, however, he came home sometime after 1 p.m. to find the street perpendicular to his swarming with police cars.

Then, he heard seven to 10 gunshots. He watched as a police officer hobbled down the driveway, yelling. More police cars and flashing lights followed.

“He was hollering something,” he said. “We couldn’t make out what he was hollering. It might’ve been, ‘I’ve been shot.’”

Police say a civil process server was fatally shot while attempting to carry out an eviction over back taxes at 1111 N. Elsea Smith Road. Three Independence police officers who responded to the scene were also hit with gunfire, and one died.

The two other officers who “took gunshot rounds” are expected to make a full recovery, according to Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman. One underwent surgery, and the other suffered minor injuries.

Larry D. Acree, 69, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Jackson County civil process server Drexel Mack, 41, and Independence police officer Cody Allen, 35.

He is also accused of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, and Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said on Friday that additional charges are expected.

On Friday, several police officers and firefighters remained at the home. A police car stayed parked at the end of his long, gated driveway for several hours.

Kim Pasquale, 65, lives close to Acree. She wasn’t home when the gunfire erupted, but when she found out which house it involved, she said it didn’t surprise her.

“He was a recluse,” she said. “He never bothered anybody, and he was just kind of weird … kept to himself.”

Other neighbors agreed: Acree was quiet. Few knew much about his personal life. It’s unclear if he lived alone. Several neighbors said he was divorced.

Williams moved into the neighborhood years before Acree. He estimated Acree built his house around 2005.

“I probably haven’t talked to him 10 times in that 19, 18 years,” Williams said.

Jerry Coleman, 71, also lives near Acree. He never expected a shooting would happen in his neighborhood, though he does remember an eviction notice hanging on Acree’s gate. It disappeared shortly after.

It’s a sad story all around, he said. He didn’t know Acree well — not like he does his other neighbors.

“I couldn’t sleep very well, thinking about all that yesterday,” he said. “Mental health services need a lot of help … I don’t know how you could be in your right mind and do what he did.”

The Star’s Bill Lukitsch and Robert Cronkleton contributed to this report.