Man who pleaded guilty to killing 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro sentenced to 22 years in prison

By Emily Rittman

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — A courtroom full of relatives held onto photos of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro as they waited Friday to hear his killer enter a guilty plea. The plea hearing was held nearly two and a half years after prosecutors say 24-year-old Ryson B. Ellis shot into an apartment as LeGend slept.

Ellis pleaded guilty to second degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon. A judge then sentenced Ellis for all three counts to a total of 22 years in prison. He will receive credit for time served for the 831 days he has been in custody.

Ellis admitted to shooting into an apartment off Bushman Drive on June 29, 2020. Prosecutors say prior to the shooting a woman reported that Ellis assaulted her. Her relatives confronted Ellis. Ellis later shot into an apartment that belonged to her relatives striking LeGend.

When he was just four months old, LeGend had already fought to survive. He underwent a successful surgery for a heart condition. His family called him their “Living Legend.”

“Just a happy go lucky little kid. Made everyone he met feel like they were special,” LeGend’s Grandfather Jaymes Evans said. “Made them laugh. For a 4-year-old, you almost thought this kid has been here before.”

Both of LeGend’s parents and his grandmother spoke before the judge sentenced Ellis. His grandmother read a letter from LeGend’s nine-year-old cousin. “I really miss LeGend,” the letter said. “Everyone misses him so much.”

LeGend’s mother Charron Powell read a statement that said, “What do you say when the best part of you is taken? Imagine not being able to hold your child or hear their voice.”

Powell told the courtroom she rewatches videos of LeGend to hear him and see his face. “My son. All I could think about was him and trying to stay strong for him,” Powell said after the hearing. LeGend would have turned 7-years-old on January 30th.

“I wanted him to hear who he took from us. What he took from us. He took a bundle of joy,” Powell said. “A legend was taken from us. I want him to understand how much we miss him and love him.”

Ellis and his attorney declined to comment as he was escorted back to jail. He will be transferred to the Missouri Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence. “God is going to forgive him. Not me. I’m not there,” LeGend’s Father Rapheal Taliferro said.

LeGend’s family will continue to honor his memory. “He is always with us in spirit,” Evans said. “At every function, there is always something that reminds you that LeGend is still with us.”

Powell asked community members to stop and think before their actions end a life and change a family forever. “Hold yourself accountable and control your anger,” Powell said.

The year LeGend was killed was the deadliest year in Kansas City’s history. An initiative to combat violent crime in 2020 was named Operation LeGend in honor of the four-year-old. During the operation, federal and local law enforcement arrested 518 suspects and seized 176 firearms.

LeGend’s mother says several families have contacted her to say they received justice for their loved one following the Operation LeGend initiative.

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