Independence man found guilty in 2017 road rage shooting case

An Independence man was found guilty Saturday in a road rage incident that led to the shooting death of a 19-year-old in 2017, the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office announced in a news release.

John C. Young, 46, was convicted on six of eight felony charges: involuntary manslaughter, unlawful use of a weapon, assault, two counts of armed criminal action and tampering with physical evidence. The defendant will be sentenced at a later date.

The victim in the case, Christopher Hutson, 19, of Lee's Summit, was shot to death in his car on May 25, 2017 after he had an encounter with another driver at 104th Street and Holmes Road in Kansas City.

Hutson's girlfriend, a witness to the shooting, was riding in Hutson's car and told police a driver of a blue vehicle had become upset and yelled at the Hutson, "Learn to (expletive) drive."

The driver of the blue car pulled up next to Hutson's car and fired shots at the car, killing the driver.

Police received a tip that the driver of the blue car shown in surveillance images was Young. The surviving victim also picked out the suspect in a photo lineup.

Police found blue paint on the victim’s gold vehicle and damage on Young's vehicle consistent with the paint transfer on the victim’s vehicle.

The prosecutor's office filed the charges against Young more than a week after the shooting last summer.

This story was originally published February 24, 2018 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Independence man found guilty in 2017 road rage shooting case."