Zachary Thompson
MO · Clay County Prosecuting Attorney
Zachary Thompson is Clay County's Prosecuting Attorney. The office handles criminal prosecution, bad-check matters, and child-support enforcement.
Where Zachary Thompson stands, based on their records
Supports
Public Safety and Crime Control (4 records), Civil Rights (1 record)
Track record
Track record — Public Safety and Crime Control
Public Safety and Crime Control · 4 support
Won a life sentence at trial for a second-degree murder in which the victim was stabbed 36 times over a request for a space heater. The jury added 15 years for armed criminal action. Thompson said his office argued the brutality deserved the maximum sentence.
September 12, 2024Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: kshb.com · researched August 2, 2026
Announced a grand jury indictment for first-degree murder in the 2022 death of Jaynie Crosdale, whose remains were found in a barrel in the Missouri River. The charge brought the defendant's total to ten counts, and Thompson's office requested a $5 million bond.
July 9, 2024Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: kshb.com · researched August 2, 2026
Charged an 84-year-old homeowner with first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old who rang the wrong doorbell. Thompson announced the charges at the Clay County Courthouse and asked for a $200,000 bond.
April 17, 2023Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: kshb.com · researched August 2, 2026
Announced a nine-count grand jury indictment in an Excelsior Springs kidnapping and rape case. The counts included first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sodomy and first-degree kidnapping.
February 14, 2023Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: kshb.com · researched August 2, 2026
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 1 support
Charged an 84-year-old homeowner with first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old who rang the wrong doorbell. Thompson announced the charges at the Clay County Courthouse and asked for a $200,000 bond.
April 17, 2023Supports Civil Rights
Source: kshb.com · researched August 2, 2026
Track record — General
General · 4 records
Announced his office's tenth yearly child support warrant amnesty program. The office mails letters telling parents with unpaid child support warrants how to get the warrant lifted, and says the program has resolved hundreds of cases over a decade.
July 27, 2026
Source: 00dd2410-3f54-4f66-b22f-810783727080.filesusr.com · researched August 2, 2026
Reached a plea agreement in the Ralph Yarl shooting. Thompson dropped the armed criminal action count and reduced first-degree assault to second-degree assault, which the defendant pleaded guilty to. His office asked the judge for a five-year prison term.
February 14, 2025
Source: kshb.com · researched August 2, 2026
Refused the Yarl family's public request to hand the case to a special prosecutor from Jackson County. Thompson kept the prosecution in his own office and reported receiving death threats over the case.
June 1, 2023
Source: kshb.com · researched August 2, 2026
The Clay County Commission voted to appoint Thompson as county prosecutor. He filled the seat left when the previous prosecutor, Dan White, became an associate circuit judge.
October 19, 2022
Source: 1027kearneymo.com · researched August 2, 2026
Past race Zachary Thompson ran in:
- Prosecuting Attorney · August 4, 2026 · Clay County, Missouri · incumbent
Profile last researched July 25, 2026.