2 Mo. men charged with rap video threat

Two men were arrested and face a series of felony charges over a homemade rap video that threatened to kill police officers, harm a judge and rape a female police officer.

Police said the profanity-laced "Kop Killa" video was initially posted on YouTube, but was pulled from the video-sharing Web site on Monday.

Kenneth Darrell Black Jr. and Benjamin D. Stevens, both 20, face felony charges of making a terroristic threat, conspiring to commit second-degree assault with a gun against law enforcement officers, conspiracy to commit rape and tampering with a judicial officer.

Black was free on $100,000 bail Wednesday; Stevens remained in custody in lieu of the same amount of bail.

Black's lawyer, Tim Warren of St. Joseph, did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday. Andrew County Prosecutor Steven Stevenson said Stevens had been appointed a public defender, but calls to the area's public defenders office also were not returned.

According to a probable-cause statement, the men outlined plans in the video to kill Savannah Police Chief David Vincent and several police officers and deputies. In all, at least 22 law enforcement officers were threatened in the video, according to documents.

Vincent said he didn't know how advanced the alleged plot was. "We're still trying to dig into it, talking to witnesses," he said.

Officer Joshua Smith said in court documents that he watched the video and heard Stevens specifically name several officers, including himself. He said Stevens described shooting Smith in an alley with an AK-47.

The statement also says the video threatens to destroy the community 60 miles north of Kansas City "like a ... Godzilla."

The video also showed footage of officers and deputies on the job.

When he was arrested Sunday, Stevens had been out on $25,000 bond from a November 2006 case in which he was charged last year with two felonies stemming from a car accident that killed two area teenagers.

Police said it appeared Black did not have any previous charges.