What happened in self-defense fatal shooting of KC businessman John Bartrom? New details

Interviews and search warrants from a Kansas City police case file suggest well-known business owner John Bartrom, 46, who was killed in a January shooting, may have been trying to buy drugs before an altercation that led to his death.

Jackson County prosecutors declined to file charges last month against a man accused of fatally shooting Bartrom in January, saying the man who fired the handgun in the incident acted in self defense.

The man arrested in connection with the shooting told police that Bartrom came to his car window at a gas station off East 63rd and Prospect and asked him for drugs. He told police he believed Bartrom was “high” at the time of their interaction, according to an interview log from officers.

The man told police that he Doordashes late at night and carries a gun for self defense. He told police he believed he was carrying a .40 caliber handgun the night of the shooting.

Because he was not charged, The Star is not naming the man accused of shooting Bartrom.

In his interview with police, the man said Bartrom wanted to buy “something hard like coke.” He allegedly told Bartrom all he had was weed and began to drive away, according to the interview log. As he began to drive, he said said he saw Bartrom flash a large amount of cash in the air.

At that point, video surveillance shows the man backing up toward Bartrom. In his interview with police, he said he refused to go into the gas station with Bartrom, but then said Bartrom reached in the vehicle and grabbed hold of his clothes, trying to pull him out of the vehicle.

The man told police he pushed Bartrom off him, and said Bartrom then tried to lunge at him a second time. That’s when, as he explained in an interview with police, he said he fired one shot in Bartrom’s direction and immediately drove away and went straight home.

“(He) stated he did not think he struck the victim when he fired and he did not see any blood,” Kansas City Police Detective Ilinca Rusnac wrote in an interview summary. “(He) was afraid for his safety based on the victim’s demeanor and added that he had never seen or interacted with the victim prior to that day.”

Officers responded just before midnight that January night to the gas station on a medical call, with the caller describing indicators of an overdose. Emergency Medical Services administered one round of Narcan and discovered a gunshot wound in Bartrom’s chest. They transported him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police reviewed video footage from the gas station shortly after the incident.

According to police, surveillance video showed Bartrom park adjacent to a white SUV, get out of his car and walk toward the SUV while pulling what looks like cash out of his pocket.

Then the video shows the SUV start to leave the gas station as Bartrom appears to count money and place it on the ground where the SUV had been parked. The SUV reverses back toward the pump and then takes off quickly as Bartrom falls to the ground in pain, a detective wrote in the case file.

The Star requested video and photos from the case, and was advised video would not be available until August.

“The homicide will be declined due to self-defense,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s office said in a statement last month. “Evidence showed the man who shot Bartrom fired a handgun after Bartrom struggled with the man and Bartrom tried to pull the man from his vehicle. Jackson County prosecutors came to this legal conclusion in consultation with police detectives.”

Bartrom fought addiction, had a generous heart

The death of Bartrom, who was known for founding Jericho Home Improvements LLC, shook a community who knew him as a friendly face and helping hand in the home remodeling business.

“Our hearts are heavy but our mission is unchanged,” Jericho Home Improvements’ new president Alec Burton said in a promotional video posted on social media in March.

“John’s priorities are still our priorities — (helping) customers, employees and orphaned and abandoned children” he said.

Bartrom founded the company in 2009 after working in sales at other companies, including Home Depot. On his LinkedIn page, Bartrom said he wanted to build a strong culture at Jericho of taking care of employees and “doing the right thing.”

The company website also explains its charitable activities, including work with The Global Orphan Project, Living Water International and Habitat for Humanity.

“Giving back is a belief that is ingrained into the heart of Jericho, and is something we live and breathe every day,” Bartrom wrote on the website.

Bartrom’s family did not respond to requests from The Star in time for publication, but in January, his sister Nora Schwartz told The Star Bartrom loved to talk, was passionate about giving back and helping others.

In an interview with police during their investigation into Bartrom’s death, Bartrom’s fiancé Rachel Chai told police she knew he had a battle with drug addiction in the past. Johnson County court records show Bartrom served probation for a misdemeanor drug charge in 2021.

Chai made a post on Facebook on January 15 in remembrance of Bartrom, recounting his love for karaoke, hot sauce and nature. She talked about his love for making a difference in others’ lives and giving himself to worthwhile causes.

“Mark 8:36 says, ‘For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’ John never, ever lost his soul, even in a world with too many people who lose their own,” she said in the post.

Chai recounted how Bartrom was the first one to do “the crazy things” like swimming with sharks on a family vacation.

In her post, Chai said those who truly knew and loved John will choose to give generously and love unconditionally to continue his legacy. She said she will honor her late fiancé by letting their son get messy while eating, sing loudly, dream big and tell him true stories about a father that was loved by many.

“Eventually, all of our physical lives end and we become a legacy but we live on through others,” Chai wrote on Facebook. “Part of John’s legacy is one of being an irrational giver to those in need, for he was a man who needed to serve no one, yet chose to serve everyone like the hero he often spoke about: Jesus.”

“‘The Savior,’ he would tell anyone and everyone, ‘who died on a cross for all of us.’ This is why we will see John again in Heaven if we want.”

The Star’s Nathan Pilling contributed to this report.