KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 25-year-old Kansas City man is accused of fatally shooting a 17-year-old driver who then crashed into a building near 63rd Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in April, Jackson County prosecutors said Monday.
Tracy French was charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action in the death of Deontae Campbell.
Shortly after 7 p.m. on April 5, Kansas City police responded to an armed disturbance where a vehicle had crashed into a business in the 1300 block of East 63rd Street. The driver of the vehicle, a 17-year-old male later identified as Campbell, had been shot in the head, and a 17-year-old male passenger had sustained injuries in the crash, according to court records.
The passenger told police that he and Campbell had left the Landing Mall and were driving when they saw a man, later identified as French, standing in the street. French began shooting at their car, according to the passenger.
Campbell, who was driving, was shot in the head and lost control of the vehicle. The other teen tried to control the vehicle, but it struck a building.
A cellphone with French’s DNA on it and several spent shell casings were recovered from the scene, according to records.
Surveillance video also showed French getting out of a vehicle on 63rd Street, where he raised his hand as if he had a gun and pointed it at someone, according to court records. The car then drove away, and French ran from the scene.
French allegedly tried to flee when officers arrested him on Friday.
He later told police that he had shot at the car because he had been robbed, records said.
Prosecutors requested a $500,000 bond for French.
