An arrest was made this week in connection with the slaying of former Mexico Ledger editor Dennis Sharkey.

Ruslan Huseynov has been charged with second degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action, according to a news release from the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office. Huseynov is being held in the Platte County Jail without bond.

Sharkey, 50, of Liberty was killed in a shooting on a Kansas City highway Jan. 10, the Ledger reported in January. He was found unresponsive from a gunshot wound around 7 p.m. inside his vehicle, the Ledger reported. Sharkey worked at The Ledger from April 2023 to February 2024. Sharkey had been working as a sports reporter for the Platte County Citizen, a weekly newspaper, the Ledger reported.

"This has been a complex investigation where deputies with the Platte County Sheriff's Office pieced together cell phone data and surveillance footage to identify a suspect,” said Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd, in the release. “Investigators arrested that man, served a search warrant at his residence, and located the weapon we allege was used in the shooting. I can't say enough about the dogged determination of investigators who refused to give up on this difficult case."

“This has been a difficult investigation that involved multiple agencies,” said Platte County Sheriff Erik Holland, in the release. “I cannot thank the Metro Squad, the Kansas City Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms enough for their help throughout this case. We would not be here today, however, without the incredible work performed by the Platte County Cyber Crimes Unit and particularly Sgt. Jason Penix. They have been relentless in their pursuit of this case and seeking justice for Mr. Sharkey and his family."

Authorities received a 911 phone call on Jan. 10 shortly after 7 p.m. related to a shooting, according to court documents cited in the release. The call came from a couple who had been traveling southbound on 1-29 between Barry Road and NW 72nd Street and saw a dark-colored car, later identified as the suspect vehicle, followed by a white car, later identified as a 2019 Chevrolet Spark, which was driven by the victim, Dennis Sharkey, the release stated.

The couple said that the two cars came to a stop in the far right lane of the Interstate, requiring the vehicle in which the couple were traveling to also stop. 

“As the couple pulled around the stopped cars, the driver of the dark-colored car got out of his vehicle with a gun in his hand and pointed at the victim's car,” the release stated. “As the couple accelerated from the scene, they heard a gunshot.”

The female witness described the suspect as a male of possible Italian or Middle Eastern descent, the release stated.

The victim's car crashed approximately a quarter mile south of NW 72nd Street, coming to rest against a fence that separates 1-29 and NW Prairie View Road. 

“Emergency workers found Sharkey in the vehicle unresponsive with what appeared to be a gunshot wound,” the release stated. “Sharkey was taken to North Kansas City Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed the preliminary cause of death to be a single gunshot wound.”

A canine belonging to the ATF discovered a recently discharged single 9mm shell casing on 1- 29, north of NW 72nd Street, the release stated.

“Sharkey's cell phone was recovered from his vehicle,” the release stated. “A search warrant related to data from the phone showed the phone communicating at 6:57:50 p.m. on the night of the shooting with the cell phone tower near 6600 NW Tower Drive at 6:57:50, which is located about 950 meters from where the shell casing was found.

“A search warrant for other cellular signals traveling southbound at the same time revealed a cell phone allegedly belonging to Huseynov travelling southbound on 1-29 and communicating with the cell phone tower on NW Tower Drive at 6:57:43 p.m. on the night of the shooting.”

Court documents showed that phone spent 62 seconds on 1-29 in a space of 900 meters, leading investigators to Huseynov's phone, which was in a vehicle that stopped on 1-29 at the time of the shooting, the release stated. Investigators also examined surveillance footage documenting what the eyewitness couple reported.

On June 10, authorities interviewed Huseynov, and, according to court documents, he allegedly confirmed his cell phone number but denied owning a gun. A search warrant was executed at his residence, though, and authorities found a 9mm Stoeger pistol in a safe in his bedroom.

“Court documents state that testing by the Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory confirmed that the shell casing located at the scene of the crime and the bullet removed from Sharkey's body during the autopsy were identified and verified to test fires performed on the pistol recovered from Huseynov's bedroom,” the release stated.

The case is being investigated by the Platte County Sheriff's Department. The Kansas City Metro Squad, Kansas City Metro Squad, Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation also assisted in the investigation. It is being prosecuted by First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mark Gibson and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Rioux.