Federal prison ordered for carjacking that led to death of pet dog

A 27-year-old Kansas City, Kan., man was sentenced Tuesday for an armed carjacking that ended in a wreck and the death of the victim’s dog.

Stephen D. Bagley was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to 12 years and 10 months in prison for the June 2014 crime.

Bagley pleaded guilty in February to charges of carjacking and using a firearm during a crime of violence.

The carjacking occurred at a convenience store in the 3700 block of Broadway.

A woman was sitting in the passenger seat of the 2008 Nissan Altima when Bagley pulled out a handgun and got in the driver’s seat, according to his plea agreement.

He ordered her out of the car and sped away with the 4-year-old terrier named Mister still in the vehicle.

The car’s owner, who had been standing outside the car, got into a friend’s vehicle and tried to follow the stolen car as it sped north.

A few minutes later, the stolen car was involved in a wreck in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35 near West Pennway.

The carjacker fled, and arriving police officers found Mister dead inside the vehicle. Officers also recovered a spent .40-caliber shell casing.

Police obtained surveillance video from the convenience store, and a federal probation officer identified Bagley as the carjacker. Bagley had been released from prison a few months before the carjacking after serving a sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

During a subsequent search of his home, investigators recovered a .40-caliber handgun. Laboratory testing linked the gun with the shell casing found in the carjacked vehicle.

Bagley’s DNA was also found on the Nissan’s gear shift knob.

Mister’s body was never examined for a cause of death so it was unknown if he was shot or died in the collision.

On Tuesday before he was sentenced, Bagley apologized, saying, “I’m 100 percent sure I was in the wrong.”

He said he would not have committed the crime if he had not been intoxicated and using drugs.

“I was essentially junkied out,” he said. “It doesn’t excuse my actions. I know this was a serious crime and people could have been hurt.”

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 11:09 AM with the headline "Federal prison ordered for carjacking that led to death of pet dog."