Attorney General William Barr Archives

Federal operation helps Kansas City crack down on violent crime

December 18, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

A law enforcement operation launched today to fight violent crime in seven of America’s most violent cities includes Kansas City. In a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri, it says “Operation Relentless Pursuit” involves a surge in federal aid, including more gun tracing information, equipment, agents and officers and federal grants to hire new officers.

Federal operation helps Kansas City crack down on violent crime

During a press conference today in Michigan, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr pledged to intensify federal law enforcement resources in Kansas City.

“Americans deserve to live in safety,” said Barr. “And while nationwide violent crime rates are down, many cities continue to see levels of extraordinary violence. Operation Relentless Pursuit seeks to ensure that no American city is excluded from the peace and security felt by the majority of Americans, while also supporting those who serve and protect in these communities with the resources, training, and equipment they need to stay safe.”

U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison in the Western District of Missouri and U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister in Kansas, along with the federal law enforcement heads based in the Kansas City metropolitan area, announced their participation.

“Kansas City, which has been wracked by too much violence for too long, is participating in this national initiative to focus more federal law enforcement resources where they are needed most,” Garrison said. “Operation Relentless Pursuit will deploy more agents and officers with additional resources to confront the epidemic of violent crime in our community. The very name of this operation – Relentless Pursuit – is a warning to violent criminals: We will not stop until you are behind bars.”

Missouri Attorney General Schmitt support the enhancements to fight crime.

“The fact that Kansas City consistently ranks in the top 15 most dangerous cities in the country is unacceptable, and our citizens deserve better – they deserve to feel safe in the communities they live in,” says Schmitt.

St. Louis and Springfield are not included in the operation.

Federal execution date set for 1998 Missouri killing; victim’s body was cut up with chainsaw

July 25, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A December execution date has been scheduled at the federal level for a man convicted of the killing of a Kansas City teenager more than 21 years ago.

Attorney General William Barr directed the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to schedule William Ira Purkey’s execution, along with four other inmates in unrelated cases.

“Under Administration of both parties, the Department of Justice has sought the death penalty against the worst criminals, including these five murderers, each of whom was convicted by a jury of his peers after a full and fair proceeding,” Barr’s statement reads, in part.

Federal prosecutors say Purkey raped and murdered a 16-year-old girl who was walking home from East High School in 1998.

The “Kansas City Star” reports Jennifer Long was raped, before she tried to escape. The newspaper says Long was stabbed repeatedly and that Purkey used an electric chainsaw to cut her body up. Her remains were burned inside a fireplace and dumped into a septic bond 200 miles away, near Wichita.

Federal prosecutors also say Purkey was convicted in Kansas of killing an elderly woman there. He used a claw hammer to bludgeon the 80-year-old woman to death. Prosecutors say she suffered from polio and walked with a cane.

Purkey is scheduled to be executed on December 13 at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in Washington tells Missourinet that Purkey is currently incarcerated in Terre Haute.

He’ll be executed by lethal injection.

The Justice Department says Purkey has exhausted his appeals.