Jury awards $158 million to family of man slain on Amtrak train in suburban Kansas City
A federal jury on Wednesday returned a $158 million verdict for the family of a passenger who was shot and killed on a Kansas City-bound Amtrak train two years ago.
After an eight-day trial in Kansas City’s downtown federal courthouse, the jury sided with the family of the 30-year-old man who was killed. The award includes $8.8 million for compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages.
Attorneys for his family declined to comment and asked that the victim’s name be omitted because of safety concerns.
The family alleged in the personal injury lawsuit that Amtrak failed to stop after the shooting, instead letting him bleed to death. Also blamed were security practices that allowed a gun to be in the possession of the shooter, who had been questioned by a conductor for suspicious behavior, according to the lawsuit.
The suspect in the shooting, Marquise L. Webb, of Kansas City, exited the train at the Lee’s Summit station after one witness reported hearing at least three gunshots. Authorities said Webb carjacked a vehicle and then drove to Kansas City as the Amtrak train departed.
The train continued on to its next destination in Independence, over roughly 35 minutes, before the gunshot victim was pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel.
Roughly two weeks after the shooting, Webb was arrested in Kansas City after a search operation led to a standoff with police.
Prosecutors initially charged Webb, now 23, with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty in September to the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter, along with armed criminal action and vehicle hijacking. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
