Why Was Host Charged in Deaths of 3 Friends Who Were Found Outside His Home After Watching Chiefs Game? (Exclusive)

A man who hosted a Kansas City Chiefs watch party — after which three of his friends were found dead outside — has been charged with manslaughter, along with another man.

Ricky Johnson, David Harrington and Clayton McGeeney were found dead outside Jordan Willis’s rental home in Kansas City, Mo., in January 2024. The bodies were not discovered until two days after the game ended. It was later determined the men all died from fentanyl and cocaine combined toxicity.

On Thursday, March 5, the Kansas City Police Department announced that Willis and another man, Ivory Carson, were arrested and charged with distribution of a controlled substance and three counts of involuntary manslaughter.

“These cases, unfortunately, are not uncommon,” Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Lawyers and former federal prosecutor, tells PEOPLE. “And they result in drug distribution and manslaughter charges.”

Rahmani says it matters less that the three men were at Willis’s home and more that he is accused of supplying the drugs to his friends.

Related: Brother Suspects 3 Friends Found Dead in Yard After Chiefs Game Had Something ‘In Their System'

In a January 2024 statement, Willis’s lawyer John Picerno said his client was “unaware of how his friends died” and that he had seen the three men leave his house before he went to bed.

Following the charges, Picerno told KCTV that he was surprised by the charges.

"The probable cause statement submitted by the state is consistent with what Jordan stated happened," Picerno reportedly said. "Jordan maintains that he is not responsible for purchasing or supplying the drugs that led to the deaths of his three friends. We are very much looking forward to the day a jury gets to hear all of the evidence in this case."

Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said after searching Willis’s home, two bags with powdery substances were found, with one containing cocaine and another containing fentanyl.

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"The probable cause statement alleges that Mr. Willis was determined to be the major contributor of DNA found on that bag [with cocaine]," Zahnd said. "The other bag contained fentanyl and the probable cause statement alleges that Mr. Carson was determined to be the major contributor of DNA on that bag."

Rahmani says if the case goes to trial, Willis will likely claim that he was not the one who distributed the drugs that killed the three men.

“The DNA is so important,” he says. “The defense is going to be, ‘I’m not a drug dealer, I didn’t supply these drugs.’ It’s the only possible defense.”

Willis has pleaded not guilty. It is not immediately clear if Carson has entered a plea.

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