A month ago, Adrian “Tony” Velez-Esparza skateboarded past his childhood friend Caroline Brandt’s car at Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.
Two weeks later, she stood by his bedside and kissed him goodbye, after the 20-year-old was shot and killed in a vehicle in the 700 block of Southwest Boulevard on June 29 , before it rolled into the outdoor patio of La Bodega restaurant.
Velez-Esparza, described by those who knew him as a loyal friend who loved pulling pranks and making people laugh, was pulled off life support on July 1, days after the shooting. At his wake, the line of mourners went around the building; just one sign of the number of people who cared for him.
“He really did live the perfect life because every day he gave me this amazing friendship that I will never be able to repay him for,” Brandt told The Star.
As his loved ones mourn him, those who witnessed his killing are still processing a terrifying scene.
The shooting
Last Sunday, The Star reported Richard Guerrero, a Kansas City, Kansas, resident, was charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action in the killing of Velez-Esparza.
Police did not disclose if the two knew each other.
Witnesses told police they were walking in the area when they heard cars honking and saw Velez-Esparza in his car arguing with another driver. Then, witnesses said they heard what sounded like two gunshots, and the Acura slowly rolled until it crashed into a wall in the outdoor seating area of La Bodega, according to the probable cause statement.
Guerrero allegedly told detectives he was driving on Southwest Boulevard with his friend in the passenger seat, when an Acura pulled up next to them. He alleged that Velez-Esparza yelled and gestured at Guerrero, according to the probable cause statement.
Guerrero said Velez-Esparza “chased” his car northbound on Southwest Boulevard and threw water bottles at his car. When they stopped at a light near La Bodega, Guerrero told detectives that Velez-Esparza threw another water bottle at his car and continued to yell at make gestures at him, the probable cause statement said.
Guerrero told detectives he felt threatened and allegedly took a 9mm handgun from his center console, fired one shot at Velez-Esparza and fled home, according to the probable cause statement.
Jonnie Cervantes, a restaurant patron, was at La Bodega that night when everyone around her dropped to the floor. In fear and confusion, she and others crawled behind the bar, ran to the kitchen and then hid in the basement after a boom was heard. All hell broke loose, she recalled, after a woman screamed that she saw a man in a car with a gun.
“One chick fell down the stairs. Her shoulder dislocated, like her shoulder was in her ribs,” Cervantes said. ”It was terrible. People are calling their families, they’re crying. It was mass chaos down there.”
When she got out, Cervantes saw the vehicle and police tape. Those few minutes, and the bravery of the restaurant staff, are still stuck with her; just as the alleged road rage killing of Velez-Esparza will forever haunt the memories of his loved ones.
“The staff there was nothing short of amazing,” Cervantes said. “...they put their lives before everybody in that restaurant.”
‘One of the most loyal people’
Brandt is still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her childhood friend is gone. The realization and mourning come in waves, she said. She, Velez-Esparza and another friend, Venicio Mendez, met in the first grade where they played soccer together during recess.
Brandt and Mendez said Velez-Esparza was a prankster, always quick to make someone laugh. He was also kind of friend who greeted you with a hug and made you feel special, they said.
“The last time I saw him was when I was on the Plaza,” Brandt said. “I was in my car, just like sitting at a stop sign. I heard someone screaming my name. I was like, where is that coming from? And it was Tony, riding his skateboard trying to race me on his skateboard while I was driving.”
Friends described Velez-Esparza as a novice skateboarder with Kansas City pride who had a passion for soccer and sneakers.
“When we were younger, he bought this new pair of shoes and he would come to school with them wrapped in plastic bags every day whenever he walked outside,” Brandt said.
To his family, Velez-Esparza’s loss is especially heartbreaking, given his love of spending time with them.
His older brother Pablo Velez-Esparza, 27, who used to play for the Sporting Soccer Academy, remembers his younger brother attending his games and even traveling with their parents.
He chuckled when he talked about his brother’s love for animals, and how he used to play with the family dog.
“Just recently, he gained the trust of this (wild) rabbit that would come to our house,” Pablo Velez-Esparza said. “When he was 10, there was this cat that would come around our house and he would feed it; and he was always close with our dog Rocky too. He would play the harmonica in front of Rocky and Rocky would howl.”
Since his passing, Velez-Esparza’s friend Mendez has been visiting Penn Valley Park where they used to hang out to remember him. There, he puts on their favorite songs and thinks about Velez-Esparza’s laugh.
“He’s definitely one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met,” he said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with hospital and funeral costs. As of Wednesday, nearly $30,00 had been raised, more than doubling the $13,000 goal.
“I think that really speaks also to how many people he touched in his life,” Mendez said. “Even if you didn’t really know him personally, he could still act with you like you did and treat you just like he would’ve been homies.”
Pablo Velez-Esparza said he will always remember how the line of people at his brother’s wake snaked around the building, and that so many adults told him how much his little brother impacted them.
“The fact that he was leaving a positive impact on people’s lives and how loving and caring he was ... It feels good to hear that about your little brother, especially when his life was taken at such a young age,” he said. “It felt like he still accomplished a lot.”
‘So much left to live’
Brandt ran from her summer physics class when her mother called telling her Velez-Esparza was in the hospital. When she arrived, she saw Mendez and their other friends with Diva Velez-Esparza, Adrian Velez-Esparza’s mother.
After visiting hours ended, the friends sat together, exchanging memories.
“It’s weird,” Brandt said. “ Because we were able to talk about this stuff and laugh, but also it was very sad at the same time because he’s in the room next door and there’s nothing we can really do.”
Brandt spent the next few days in the hospital until the family decided it was time to let her friend go. Adrian Velez-Esparza was an organ donor, and doctors said his heart would go to an 11-year-old girl.
In the last minutes of his life, Adrian Velez-Esparza’s family was alone with him. Pablo Velez-Esparza said they all held his little brother’s hands and reflected on how incredible he was, and that they’d all see him again one day.
“It was a positive moment, but at the same time it was just hard. Like knowing that my little brother’s not gonna be here with us anymore. And then seeing my mom cry was the hardest part for sure,” he said. “That’s gonna be ingrained in my memory, I’ll never gonna forget that.”
Roughly 50 people lined the hallway for the march of honor. It was quiet, Brandt said, except for Adrian Velez-Esparza’s grandmother crying as her grandson was wheeled into the operating room. A quilted organ donor blanket was draped over him.
“It was really hard for me to think he’s going into another room to be cut open and having his organs taken out. It doesn’t feel real like he’s so young, he still had so much left to live. We’ve spent our whole lives together,“ Brandt said.
After the march of honor, parents Diva Velez-Esparza and Aristeo Velez told family and friends they want to forgive the shooter and would like some space from the investigation.
Pablo Velez-Esparza agrees with his parents, who he said have leaned into their faith to be able to forgive, though he understands it is easier said than done. He hopes the shooter has time to reflect and become a better person.
“(The suspect) completely ruined his life over a road rage incident. I don’t know who the guy is, I don’t know if he has kids, he’s gotta be a son to somebody,” Pablo Velez-Esparza said. “Now his parents are gonna be devastated, and his whole family’s gonna have to visit him from behind bars. That’s not a good situation either.”
While Adrian Velez-Esparza’s friends respect the family’s wishes, Mendez and Brandt are determined to keep tabs on the case.
“It’s not something that me or his friends are ever gonna forget about...we’re gonna keep looking into that and we’re not gonna forget what happened,” Mendez said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043, or the TIPS hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. Up to $25,000 can be awarded for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.
Previous reporting from the Star’s Andrea Klick was used in this piece.
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