Kansas City man is sentenced to 20 years in prison for 2017 fatal shooting
A 23-year-old man was sentenced late Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court to 20 years in prison for a fatal shooting in 2017 that occurred during a drug deal gone bad.
Malik S. Chapple of Kansas City had previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, robbery and armed criminal action in the killing of Travis Mills.
The shooting happened Dec. 18, 2017 outside an apartment complex in the 1500 block of East 97th Street in Kansas City.
Prosecutors said a woman arranged for Mills to sell Chapple about $750 worth of marijuana. Mills had recently purchased the drugs from Colorado. The woman and Chapple agreed to meet in the parking lot of the apartment complex. Chapple arrived with another man and a child in the back seat of his car. Mills arrived with the woman who arranged the deal.
Chapple parked his car and got into the back seat of Mills’ car. Chapple said he wanted to weigh the marijuana and went back to his car. He returned moments later brandishing a handgun.
A passenger in Chapple’s car got out and walked up to the driver’s side of Mills’ car. Mills and the passenger began to fight. During the struggle, Chapple shot Mills, prosecutors said.
Chapple pointed the gun at the woman and demanded she give him the drug. After taking the marijuana, Chapple and his passenger sped away. Mills was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Investigators tracked Chapple’s cellphone number through a computer search. The witness identified Chapple as the man who shot Mills, according to court records.
Chapple had also pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon and drug possession that were connected to a separate incident. Those sentences were also set to run concurrently to the 20-year sentence, prosecutors said Saturday.
This story was originally published June 1, 2019 at 9:56 AM.
