DA: Deputies in fatal De Soto Panasonic Plant shooting will not face charges

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OLATHE, Kan. — Officials say the use of force by a Johnson County deputy in the shooting death of a Panasonic battery plant employee was justified.

Body camera footage released Friday showed the moments leading up to the fatal incident.

On Friday, the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office held a news conference revealing the bodycam footage from the December 2025 deadly shooting at the De Soto, Kansas, Panasonic plant—where a stabbing suspect, identified as Jonathan Lunceford, 55, of Blue Springs, Missouri, was shot and killed.

Body camera footage showed deputies searching the plant for Lunceford after deputies were called to a stabbing just before 11 a.m. Inside, deputies located a victim suffering from multiple stab wounds.

After deputies rendered aid to the stabbing victim, Lunceford crossed paths with deputies before continuing to run away in the facility.

Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said co-workers directed them to Lunceford, and he also was a clear suspect because of blood covering his arms.

In the video, you can see deputies pursuing Lunceford, ordering him to stop and get on the ground. The pair of deputies deployed a total of ten taser probes. Only once did Lunceford appear affected by the tasers, going to the ground before getting up and going toward the deputies, forcing them to retreat.

“Probably because of the outerwear that he was wearing and the type of construction gear, sometimes those probes don’t make contact with the skin,” Johnson County Sheriff Byron Roberson said.
Lunceford appears to ignore deputies’ commands before the interaction ends with deputies firing multiple shots, killing Lunceford.

Howe also said deputies were unaware co-workers had already taken the knife away from Lunceford and raised it on a scissor lift prior to their arrival. He was found with a wrench near his body.
The stabbing victim, identified by Howe as a supervisor, has since recovered. He said a motive for the stabbing was never uncovered.

Categories: Police

Tags: kansas police

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