The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Independent Police Department made an arrest Sunday evening connected to the recent murders of two men in Independence.
18-year-old James Taylor Shawn Gofourth of Independence was arrested just after 5 p.m. on Sunday evening. The arrest warrant, served to Gofourth at the Labette County Jail, alleges that Gofourth committed two counts of first-degree murder related to the deaths of 27-year-old Tyler Cook and 24-year-old Rodricus Dawson. In addition to the murder charges, the warrant also alleges one count of attempted murder for injuring a 27-year-old Independence woman.
Gofourth had already been booked into the Labette County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery, possession of marijuana, and possession of an opiate narcotic or certain stimulant. Those charges were unrelated to Sunday's arrest.
