KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence teenager is accused of shooting a man during an attempted gun sale that turned deadly.
Around 1 p.m. on Friday, Independence police responded to a shooting at an apartment complex in the 300 block of Sundown Drive. A man was found shot to death next to a vehicle that was still running.
A witness who was with the victim, identified as Nikolas Lampton, said that Lampton had gone to the apartment complex to exchange marijuana and $400 for an assault rifle and a pistol, according to charging documents.
When they arrived at the apartment complex, the suspect, 18-year-old Jason Belshe, asked Lampton to get out of the vehicle and go with him to another area to complete the transaction, records said.
Surveillance video showed Lampton and Belshe walk away from the vehicle and go between two buildings. The video showed the suspect fire at Lampton as he turned to walk away, and then additional shots were fired as he began to run.
Belshe told detectives that Lampton tried to pull a gun on him and that he fired two to three shots at him, according to records.
Three guns were found inside the apartment where Belshe was located, including one gun that Belshe said he picked up after Lampton dropped it, according to records.
Belshe was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of armed criminal action. Prosecutors requested a $500,000 cash bond.
