Months of Detective Work Leads to Man Who Gunned Down Sports Reporter | Crime Alert 4PM 06.13.25

A suspect is arrested after a Missouri sports reporter is gunned down in a suspected road rage shooting on I-29. A Colorado teacher is found guilty of giving pot brownies to two sixth graders as a prize for learning Greek and Latin root words. Drew Nelson reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert, hourly update, breaking crime news Now. Tragedy does
not begin to describe what this family has had to endure.
I'm Drew Nelson, a Missouri sports reporter, is gunned down
in a suspected road raid shooting on I twenty nine,
and police now say cell phone data and a nine
millimeter helped tie a Kansas City man to the crime.
Platte County Sheriff Eric Hollins speaking at a press conference there,

(00:22):
he said Dennis Sharky, age fifty, was shot and killed
January tenth while driving home from an event. His white
twenty nineteen Chevrolet Spark crashed near northwest seventieth Street and
Northwest Prairie View Road. He died at the hospital from
a single gunshot wound. Deputies confirmed he had been shot
while returning from an assignment for the Platte County. Citizen
witnesses said he and another person were behind two stopped

(00:43):
cars in the far right lane of southbound I twenty
nine that night.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
As the couple pulled around the stop cars, the driver
in the dark colored car got out of his vehicle
with a gun in his hand and pointed at the
victim's car. As a couple accelerated from the scene they
heard a gun shot.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Prosecuting attorney Eric Zohn says Sharky's car veered off the
road and crashed into a fence. Authorities spent months analyzing
cell phone tower data and surveillance footage. They eventually matched
a phone to Ruslan Husnaioff AH thirty four, whose data
placed him at the site of the shooting. Investigators also
found matching shell casings at the scene.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Investigators then arrested that man, served as search warrant at
his residence and located the weapon that we allege was
used in the shooting.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
That turned out to be the nine milimeters pistol found
in his bedroom. Safe tests showed the bullet found in
Sharki's body and the casings near the crash matched the weapon.
The gun was also seen in a photo found in
whose Nayoff's iCloud account, showing him holding a nine milimeter magazine.
The next day, Platte County prosecutors charged whose Nayoff was
second degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, and two

(01:53):
counts of armed criminal action. He was booked into the
Platte County Jail without bond. Sharky had just turned fifty
the day before he was killed. His family said he
had planned to celebrate the next day. He spent much
of his life working for news outlets in Missouri and Kansas.
He was best known for covering sports, and had most
recently been a writer and photographer for The Citizen. His
obituary described him as a devoted son and caretaker for

(02:17):
his mother, who had just lost her husband three days
before Dennis was killed. Sharky was described as loving Kansas
City sports, gardening, and tailgating. A GoFundMe is raising money
to help his mother with funeral expenses and rent. The
family said Sharky was quote not only a beloved son, cousin,
and friend, but also a dedicated caretaker to his mother,

(02:37):
who has now left to navigate this unimaginable heartbreak. Prosecutors say,
who is now faces life in prison if convicted. As
to what really happened.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
We actually still don't know what really led up to
the shooting. It certainly has all the hallmarks of a
road rage case.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
More crime and Justice news. After this, a Colorado teachers
found guilty of giving weed brownies to two sixth graders
as a prize for a classroom contest. On Thursday, a
Denver jury convicted fifty five year old Sharon Wilson of
two counts of misdemeanor child abuse. She had worked for

(03:15):
more than two decades as a language arts teacher at
Kepner Beacon Middle School. The case began in June of
last year, when two of her students began to feel
sick after eating homemade brownies she gave them as a
reward for naming the most Greek and Latin root words
in a classroom competition. One of the boys told the
jury the brownie tasted quote weird and sour. He said
he put it in his backpack but later ate part

(03:37):
of it. He said things quote looked a little weird,
and then his head started rolling. He said he got
the munchies, ate a lot of macaroni and cheese and
fried chicken, took a long nap and felt better. The
other child said he knew something was wrong right away.
He told friends he felt sick, had red eyes, and
was quote really out of it. With his mother's help,
the friends took him to the car. She thought he

(03:58):
may have had an allergic reaction and tech died. Wilson
to ask about the ingredients. Wilson replied, quote there from scratch.
Maybe it is the unsweetened chocolate. I also used sugar, flour,
Mexican vanilla salt, baking soda, eggs. She added quote another
student had one too. They made the most words with
Greek and Latin roots, so they won the prize. The
other student hasn't reported any allergy symptoms. I'm so sorry.

(04:20):
It sounds like an allergic reaction. Both children were taken
to urgent care. Doctors ran blood tests, which showed they
had THHC in their systems. One of the mothers had
kept part of the brownie. Police sent it to the
Colorado Bureau of Investigations, where it tested positive. Denver Public
Schools placed Wilson on paid leave at the end of
the twenty twenty three twenty four school year. She did

(04:40):
not sign another teaching contract. Wilson told police she had
made pot brownies before, but said these were not those.
Her lawyer said she had defrosted an old batch and
blamed the taste on freezer burn. He said there was
no proof she gave the kids drugged food. Wilson denied
the charges at trial. She's also facing a civil lawsuit
from the parents of the two boys. They are seeking

(05:01):
money for emotional distress and medical costs. Prosecutors have not
yet set a date for sentencing. For the latest crime
and justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on your
favorite podcast app with this crime Alert. I'm Drew Nelson.