Jackson County DA challenges ‘Stand Your Ground’ after gang members convicted

A Jackson County judge on Friday sentenced two Kansas City defendants to multiple felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with a January afternoon gun battle in Crown Center, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters announced today Baker.

The judge sentenced Brian Favela, 23, and Joel Olivas, 24, identified by prosecutors as East Side gang members, to two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, felonies class B and two counts of armed criminal action, as well as three felonies. of Harassment in the second degree. The judge dismissed one count of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action, finding that insufficient evidence was shown to overcome Missouri’s self-defense laws on those two counts.

“Today’s verdict indicates a level of accountability that this office will seek for individuals who engage in this type of insidious behavior, even when defendants are armored with Missouri’s very generous self-defense laws,” Baker said. “We will do everything possible to hold criminals accountable for their own criminal behavior. I am grateful to this prosecution team who worked so hard and so quickly to bring these criminals to justice. And I am so grateful to the leadership team at Crown. Center and Hallmark and KCPD, who helped in every way possible to get today’s verdict.”

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