Aurora Mccarthy Funeral Home

Photo: Nico Goda)AURORA - Of all the people packed into McCarthy's Sports Bar and Grill Saturday afternoon, the focus was on the one person who was not there, Kelly Acosta."He's like the shining light, always helpful, always, just always available," Laura Moshel, friend, said.The 29-year-old was shot and killed around 4:30 a.m. on February 18 outside his apartment in Aurora. Police have not released much information about the investigation, but his friends say he was shot while trying to stop a man from beating a woman."He was a hero to all of us before any of this," Brittany Allen, friend, said.Acosta was long time bartender in Aurora, working at a few establishments in the area of Chambers Road and Smoky Hill Road."Everybody just loved Kelly. He was that bartender that everybody would follow from one place to another," Moshel said.She says his personality was infectious."His laugh, his dimples, he's Kelly," Moshel said.Allen says he was just a big teddy bear."He's been my voice of reason for the six, seven years I've known him now," Allen said. "He would've laid down his life for me for any of us."The benefit concert at McCarthy's and another one Sunday at another bar, The Emerald Isle will pay for costs related to his funeral and to towards a charity in his name."Kelly, he wasn't about money," Moshel said. "I don't think he would've wanted it to go just to him."But, what Moshel and Allen want most is for his killer to be found. If you know anything about this case, you are asked to call Sergeant Matt Fyles. He works at the Aurora Police Department within the Major Crimes/Homicide Unit. His phone number is 303-739-6041."He didn't have to die like that," Moshel said.Allen wants answers."It is the most frustrating, terrifying thing in the entire world," Allen said.© 2017 KUSA-TV... (9NEWS.com)

A man charged in the shooting death of a western Missouri police officer has been arrested after an alert driver provided a tip that the fugitive was wandering within miles of where the killing took place, a law enforcement official said.The driver reported seeing Ian McCarthy walking along a state highway near Bucksaw Marina, just east of Clinton, and he was arrested without incident late Tuesday, Sgt. Bill Lowe of the Missouri Highway Patrol said at a news conference later that night.This undated photo released by the Missouri State Highway Patrol shows Ian McCarthy, of Clinton, Mo., who was charged Monday, Aug. 7, 2017, with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of Clinton police officer Gary Michael during a traffic stop on Sunday. McCarthy was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 8. Missouri State Highway Patrol dispatchers said he was taken into custody in Henry County, which includes the city of Clinton. (Missouri State Highway Patrol via AP)The arrest ended a two-day manhunt that began after 37-year-old Clinton police officer Gary Michael was shot to death during a traffic stop Sunday night in Clinton, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City.Michael and McCarthy had exchanged gunfire before the officer died and the driver fled. Lowe said McCarthy, 39, was suffering from a gunshot wound when a patrol trooper arrested him. Lowe declined to provide specifics about the gunshot wound except to say “Officer Michael was heroic to the end.”McCarthy was taken to a Kansas City area hospital for treatment and then was taken into custody at the Henry County jail.“We’re just extremely thankful to the citizens of Henry County and citizens of Clinton that continued to give us tips and information. Without that, we may still be looking for him,” Lowe said.McCarthy was not armed when he was arrested. Investigators will continue to look for the weapon used in Michael’s shooting and try to determine a motive, Lowe said.McCarthy is also wanted in New Hampshire, wh... (Aurora Sentinel)