KC man gets 23 years in prison for role in meth dealer’s killing

A Kansas City man was sentenced Tuesday to 23 years and six months in prison for his role in a drug deal that ended with the dealer being killed.

James P. Roberts was one of two men charged in connection with the 2014 killing of Jose Medellin.

Roberts, 27, pleaded guilty earlier this year in U.S. District Court to a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine that resulted in the death of another person.

Co-defendant Marcell Shavers, who prosecutors alleged was the gunman who shot Medellin, was previously sentenced to 40 years in prison.

A jury found Shavers not guilty in Medellin’s death, but he was convicted on the drug conspiracy count.

Medellin, 40, was fatally shot at an apartment complex near U.S. 40 and Interstate 70 in Kansas City on New Year’s Day 2014.

He was shot after agreeing to sell the men methamphetamine, according to previous court testimony.

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 3:57 PM.