Left: Ruslan Huseynov (Platte County Jail). Right: Dennis Sharkey Jr. (Passantino Bros. Funeral Home).
A Missouri man who allegedly shot a sports reporter dead on a highway during a road rage incident has been arrested.
Ruslan Huseynov, aged 34, is facing charges of second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and armed criminal action in connection with the death of 50-year-old Dennis Sharkey Jr.
An arrest affidavit based on probable cause revealed that the incident took place at approximately 7 p.m. on Jan. 10 on Interstate 29 near Northwest 72nd Street just north of Kansas City. A couple who were driving in the vicinity witnessed two vehicles coming to a sudden stop in the far-right lane. They observed the suspect vehicle positioned directly in front of the victim’s vehicle. A man exited the suspect vehicle holding a gun in his right hand. The witnesses quickly drove around the two vehicles and heard a gunshot as they pulled away. Subsequently, they contacted emergency services.
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Upon receiving the call, authorities swiftly responded to the location and discovered Sharkey’s vehicle had crashed into a fence alongside the highway. Sharkey was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound. Despite efforts from medical personnel, Sharkey was pronounced dead at a hospital, the police confirmed.
Investigators found a single 9 mm shell casing on the highway near where the road rage shooting occurred, according to the affidavit. Detectives identified Huseynov as the suspect after obtaining a search warrant for cell tower data to show the phones that were in the area at the time of the shooting.
Huseynov’s vehicle matched the one seen on surveillance videos from the time of the slaying, cops wrote. As they were investigating him, detectives discovered Huseynov had allegedly shoplifted from a grocery store on two different occasions, including a plate of food from a buffet.
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Cops took Huseynov into custody on the shoplifting charges Tuesday and questioned him about the road rage shooting.
Post-Miranda, Huseynov “adamantly denied owning a gun.” Cops then confronted him with a photo they discovered from his iCloud account of him holding a 9 mm handgun, the affidavit states. The suspect admitted he was the person in the photo but claimed it was his friend’s gun, the affidavit said. He couldn’t remember the name of the friend and described him as a “black male tattoo artist who worked near the airport,” cops wrote.
Huseynov continued to deny possessing a firearm but cops found a 9 mm handgun in a safe in his bedroom. On Tuesday, authorities said they determined the gun was the same one used to kill Sharkey.
“I can’t say enough about the dogged determination of investigators who refused to give up on this difficult case,” Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd told reporters at a press conference.
Zahnd said investigators are still trying to piece together what led up to the shooting.
Sharkey was a reporter for the Platte County Citizen. He was leaving a sports event he had been covering when the shooting occurred.
“He was her rock, her caretaker, and her provider,” a GoFundMe page said.
