21-year-old accused of murder after road rage shooting takes KC driver’s life
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A 21-year-old has been charged with murder after a November road rage shooting took the life of a 66-year-old man in Kansas City.
A probable cause statement filed by the Kansas City Police Department revealed that around 6 p.m. on Nov. 8, law enforcement officials were called to the area of 75th and Paseo Blvd. with reports of a shooting.
When first responders arrived, they said they found a victim in the driver’s seat of a green GMC Sierra who had been slumped over and unresponsive. The victim, identified as Dennis R. Griffin, 66, sustained a gunshot wound and was taken to Research Medical Center, where hospital staff pronounced him deceased.
Investigators indicated that the windows of the pickup had been shattered as multiple bullet holes were found. A witness reported the shooting had been the result of a road rage incident and the suspect was the driver of a white Chevrolet Tahoe.
City security footage revealed the witness’s to be accurate as the suspect vehicle was then seen speeding away from the scene on 85th St. The suspect vehicle was found in a nearby driveway a few days after the shooting.
After a search warrant was obtained, investigators said they found documents belonging to Francis inside the vehicle. Francis was found on April 8, when he itted to law enforcement that he had been driving the suspect vehicle at the time of the crime but attempted to pin the shooting on the victim of a separate homicide.
Law enforcement officials said that while cell phone towers did not show the victim of the separate homicide at the scene of the road rage incident, they did show Francis’s. As a result, Francis has been charged with murder in the second-degree and armed criminal action. If convicted, he could spend up to life in prison.
As of Wednesday, Francis remains behind bars on a $150,000 bond. An initial appearance was held at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 9.
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