Testimony begins to determine if juvenile will be tried as adult in Chiefs rally shooting

A flurry of gunfire that erupted at the conclusion of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally in February lasted just seconds, a Jackson County judge heard during testimony Tuesday. The incident would leave dozens of people injured, one woman dead, and countless attendees at the community celebration with lasting trauma.

The testimony came as part of a certification hearing for a 16-year-old boy who has been charged in connection with the rally shooting. The proceedings, which will resume later in May, could end in the boy being prosecuted as an adult.

The teen, referred to throughout Tuesday’s proceedings by his initials, A.M., has been charged with one count of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of resisting arrest.

State law lays out a group of factors for a judge to consider when reviewing whether to send a juvenile case to general jurisdiction court, where the defendant would be prosecuted as an adult, including the seriousness of the alleged offense, whether it involved viciousness and violence, whether it was part of a pattern of offenses, as well the child’s age and history.

A.M. and family members listened Tuesday afternoon as an attorney representing the Jackson County Juvenile Officer and the boy’s own defense attorney presented testimony and evidence to Jackson County Family Court Administrative Judge Jennifer Phillips, who will eventually rule on how the case against A.M. will proceed.

The testimony

The bulk of testimony presented focused on the rally shooting itself.

Ahmad Belcher, a deputy juvenile officer with Jackson County who assessed A.M. as part of the proceedings, testified the boy had a supportive family system and had “a lot going for him,” but ultimately recommended the boy be prosecuted as an adult, pointing to the seriousness of the incident in which he said A.M. had fired into a crowd of people as they fled, fearful for their lives.

“He chose to come to an event armed with a dangerous weapon. He chose to discharge this weapon,” Belcher said of A.M., noting the incident left those in attendance with lasting trauma.

The shooting was a “deeply traumatic experience” for A.M., his attorney Yashwanth Manjunath said, emphasizing that it was Lyndell Mays, one of three men later charged with murder in connection with the rally shooting, who fired first and who would shoot A.M.’s friend in the face. The boy, he noted, had no history with the juvenile justice system.

At the end of Tuesday’s proceedings, as Phillips heard arguments over the boy’s continued detention, Manjunath indicated to Phillips that he was making a self-defense argument.

Kansas City police detective Grant Spiking testified, referencing video surveillance he said showed A.M. as a member of one of two groups involved in an argument in which a member of the opposite group, alleged to be Mays, first pulled a gun and began to fire at a member of the group A.M. was in. The two groups began firing at each other.

Spiking testified A.M. could be seen running away after Mays allegedly pulled a gun and advanced on a man who he would shoot in the face, firing multiple times even as uninvolved people were in between him and his target. Gunfire traded between the two groups lasted about four seconds, Spiking said.

It was at the end of the flurry that Mays was struck and fell to the ground, when A.M. turned from running, fired a gun in Mays’ direction and then ran off before he was eventually tackled by a police officer, Spiking said. Two shell casings that matched A.M.’s gun were later recovered by investigators.

“Everyone in the direction he was shooting was in danger,” Spiking said of A.M.’s gunfire.

Spiking noted 25 people were injured in the incident and one woman was killed, but a larger number, 60, would eventually report injuries or go to a hospital in connection with the rally shooting.

The proceedings for A.M. are expected to resume May 20. Then, Phillips is expected to hear testimony from family members of the boy and a defense expert witness.

At the conclusion of Tuesday’s hearing, Phillips ruled that A.M. would remain in custody.

The other suspects

Another teen, a 15-year-old, also was charged on March 20 with unlawful use of a weapon for shooting at a person and armed criminal action. That youth is due back in court for a detention hearing on May 15, and also may be tried as an adult. A certification hearing for that matter has not yet been set.

A third teen was also detained on gun-related charges that do not rise to the level to be tried as an adult.

Three men also face murder charges in the Feb. 14 mass shooting, in which Lisa Lopez-Galvan , a 43-year-old Johnson County mother of two and a beloved party DJ, was killed.

In February, prosecutors charged Mays, 23, of Raytown , and Dominic Miller, 18, of Kansas City , with identical charges — second-degree felony murder and unlawful use of a weapon, as well as two counts of armed criminal action. About a month later, prosecutors charged Terry J. Young, 23, of Kansas City , with second-degree felony murder and unlawful use of a weapon, as well as two counts of armed criminal action.

Since then, grand juries have indicted Mays and Young on identical charges, replacing the original charges filed by prosecutors.

Investigators have alleged that Mays drew and fired first. Gunfire from Miller’s firearm struck and killed Lopez-Galvan, according to court documents. In the surveillance video, Young can be seen drawing a gun and appearing to shoot several times.

Under Missouri law, a person who did not pull the trigger can still be charged when someone is killed during the commission of a dangerous felony.

The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this story.