17-year-old accused of killing teen during drug deal outside KC home, prosecutor says
A 17-year-old from Kansas City has been charged with murder months after a teen was found shot to death outside his home, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday.
Joshua B. Gaston was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action after 17-year-old Arkests Grant was killed in the 3900 block of Wabash Avenue.
The shooting was reported after 7:45 p.m. Jan. 6. A relative told police Grant was selling marijuana when it happened.
Family members said he was supposed to be meeting a female at the house that night, but witnesses told police they saw a young man approach Grant instead.
Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and saw the same young man run south on Wabash, court records said.
Arriving police officers found Grant with multiple gunshot wounds.
Seven spent shell casings and several individual bags of marijuana were recovered at the scene.
Police also recovered Grant’s cellphone and reported finding Facebook messages between Grant and another juvenile. The two appeared to be organizing a drug deal.
The juvenile later told police she had been setting up the transaction on Gaston’s behalf, court records said. She said she didn’t know what Gaston intended to do that night.
Then, on April 22, detectives received a report from the Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory, revealing that genetic material taken from a spent shell casing at the crime scene matched to Gaston, court records said.
On Tuesday, Gaston was arrested.
Gaston told police he shot Grant that night but said he had seen another man nearby, approaching with a gun as he was about to pay the victim, court records said.
Gaston remains in the Jackson County Detention Center with bond set at $150,000.
An arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday and a preliminary hearing is set for June 20.
This story was originally published June 5, 2019 at 10:21 PM.
