Kansas City man charged in 2024 homicide during road rage incident
A Kansas City man was charged with murder Wednesday in a fatal shooting in November that was apparently motivated by road rage.
Isaiah Francis, 21, faces charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in Jackson County court. Francis allegedly shot and killed Dennis R. Griffin, 66, while Griffin was in his car on Nov. 8, 2024.
Officers with the Kansas City Police Department responded to the shooting at 75th Street and Paseo around 6 p.m., where Griffin’s green GMC Sierra pickup truck was stopped in the southbound lanes of the Paseo. Griffin, wounded and unresponsive, was transported to a local hospital, where he was declared dead at 6:21 p.m.
Investigators believe that Francis shot Griffin from outside the vehicle after the two argued on the roadway, according to court documents. A witness allegedly told investigators that Francis, driving a white SUV with a rusty bumper, had been speeding through traffic along Paseo when he became involved in an altercation with the pickup truck driver, later identified as Griffin.
The witness told investigators that Griffin swerved to cut off Francis, court documents read, at which point Francis pulled up beside the the green Sierra and allegedly fired four to five shots into the truck through the front window on the drivers’ side.
Surveillance footage captured at the scene shows Griffin’s truck cutting off Francis’ SUV, then shows the two cars pulling up beside each other at the traffic light at 75th and Paseo, according to court documents.
According to court records, Francis alleges that a passenger who was in his car during the incident was responsible for shooting Griffin from the left-side backseat of the SUV after Francis and Griffin argued at the stoplight.
Dennis Roy Griffin was born in Mississippi and later moved to Kansas City, where he graduated from Central High School in 1974, according to an obituary shared online. A U.S. Army veteran and observant Baptist, Griffin worked for an ammunition plant in Independence and then for KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
Griffin’s loved ones remember him as a homebody and a sharp dresser who loved the Kansas City Chiefs, old Cadillac cars, barbecues and spending time with family, the obituary reads. He is survived by his wife, daughter and two grandchildren, and preceded in death by his son.
“Dennis could be described as the glue that kept the family together from Kansas City, to Mississippi, to Detroit,” the obituary reads.
Francis is currently being held at the Jackson County Detention Center on a $150,000 bond. His next court appearance has not been scheduled as of Wednesday.
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 7:10 PM.
