The 36-year-old white man accused of killing Jon Rone Jr., a 41-year old Black man stabbed outside of a Kansas City convenience store on July 4, has been charged with a hate crime, according to federal prosecutors.
Sean W. Tonkin, of Florida, was indicted Wednesday by a Kansas City grand jury, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. He has been held in the Jackson County jail since mid-July on state charges, including a misdemeanor for disturbing the peace.
Federal rosecutors allege the killing was racially motivated as Tonkin, who was staying in an area motel, directed racial slurs toward Rone before stabbing him twice. The case continues to be investigated by the FBI, prosecutors said.
Friends and family of Rone’s who spoke to The Star in the wake of his killing have said Tonkin had displayed an apparent hatred of Black people and had been looking for a fight. Authorities have previously said several witnesses overheard Tonkin using the N-word and addressing Rone by that slur.
The killing happened on Independence Day, around 2:30 p.m. Police officers were dispatched to the reported stabbing at the Liquor Land gas station and convenience store at 14306 E. U.S. 40. in eastern Kansas City.
Inside the store, officers located Rone on the ground as he was bleeding from stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses told police a stranger, later identified by authorities as Tonkin, had approached them and repeatedly used the N-word in conversation despite being told to stop, according to court records. Tonkin then used the slur to address Rone, one of the witnesses said, and later threw the first punch when the two fought outside the store.
Surveillance video of the encounter showed Rone, with a club in hand, follow Tonkin to the side of the business out of camera view, according to an affidavit filed by a Kansas City detective earlier this year.
Shortly after that, Rone stumbled back into the store, uttered “he stabbed me,” and collapsed to the floor.
Tonkin was arrested that day in nearby Independence. He allegedly tried to hide in a treeline when police were approaching, and a knife was collected by officers when he was taken into custody, the affidavit says.
Family and friends of Rone have called for more serious criminal charges to be brought against Tonkin in the wake of the killing.
Misty Beck, Rone’s girlfriend, told The Star previously that she and Rone — a father of two sons who went by “Mike” — were regular customers of Liquor Land and often played the video casino games there.
On the day he died, Beck said, she overheard someone yell the N-word and saw Rone standing near Tonkin. She tried to get him to leave the situation, she said, but he calmly told her he was handling it.
Seconds later, she recalled, a woman ran into the store yelling for someone to call 911.
The Star also spoke with Rone’s sister, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. She has questioned why more serious charges were not filed immediately after her brother was killed, saying she believed the killing was clearly motivated by racism.
She said one of the witnesses to the stabbing told her that Tonkin, before killing her brother, had asked whether she would like to see “a white boy f— up a n—–.”
In July, Tonkin was charged in Jackson County with drug possession and disturbing the peace, a misdemeanor, as prosecutors said there were elements of Missouri’s self-defense law that would determine whether other state charges could be pursued.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said at the time that Tonkin had used “ highly disturbing racial slurs” and “we categorically condemn that language,” adding the office had filed available charges under Missouri law “that address those racist comments.”
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
