Court finds KC gang members guilty in Crown Center shooting

KANSAS CITY — A Jackson County judge on Friday found two Kansas City defendants guilty of multiple felonies and misdemeanors in connection with a shooting that occurred one January afternoon at Crown Center, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

The judge convicted Brian Favela, 23, and Joel Olivas, 24, whom prosecutors identified as East Side gang members, of two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, class B felonies, and two counts of armed criminal action, as well as three misdemeanor counts. Harassment 2nd degree. The judge dismissed one count of unlawful use of a weapon and criminal mischief with a weapon, finding there was not enough evidence presented to overcome Missouri’s self-defense laws on those two counts.

“The sentence indicates a level of accountability that this office will seek for individuals who engage in this type of insidious conduct, even though the defendants are protected by Missouri’s very generous self-defense laws,” Baker said. “We will do everything we can to hold offenders accountable for their own criminal behavior. I am grateful to this court team who worked so hard and quickly to bring these offenders to justice. And I am so grateful to the management team at Crown Center, Hallmark and KPPG who helped in every way possible to reach today’s verdict.”

Jackson County Prosecutors Dion Sancar, Christiana Bryant and Devon Tarantino prosecuted the case on behalf of the State of Missouri.

The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for Dec. 12 at 2 p.m.