Man pleads guilty to Tool Shed Lounge shooting

An Independence man has pleaded guilty to shooting three people at the Tool Shed Lounge on U.S. 40 last August.

Reginald L. Thurber, 49, pleaded guilty on Monday to three counts of armed criminal action and three counts of first-degree assault.

Each of the assault charges carries between five to 15 years in prison.

Jackson County prosecutors originally charged him with a total of 11 counts: five counts of first-degree assault, five counts of armed criminal action and one count of discharging a firearm.

Those five counts of assault, armed criminal action and discharging a firearm were dropped in the plea agreement. Authorities said at the time he was charged that Thurber shot at two other people.

Thurber unloaded numerous shotgun rounds at the people at the tavern at 14940 U.S. 40 near the Independence and Kansas City border.

The victims survived, some with wounds to the head, back and legs. Two of the victims were taken to an area hospital and the other was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Kansas City police recovered a rifle, shotgun, 13 live 30-06 rifle rounds, 25 live 12-gauge shotgun shells and a black knife, according to a previous report in The Examiner.

Thurber is scheduled to be sentenced at 11 a.m. Aug. 14 in Division 13 at the Kansas City Courthouse.