Kansas City man charged after an attempted robbery ended in fatal shooting in 2018
A 36-year-old Kansas City man has been charged for his alleged role in an attempted robbery last year that ended with a man getting shot to death, according to a news release from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Marquand R. Simmons is charged with second-degree murder, attempted robbery and two counts of armed criminal action.
Charging documents filed by prosecutors Friday allege that Simmons was following 38-year-old Damar L. West in a vehicle before West was killed.
Kansas City police officers were called to the investigate the shooting just before 11 p.m. Nov. 12, 2018, in the 700 block of East 30th Street. Arriving officers found West on the back deck of an apartment building. He had a gunshot wound to the neck.
According to court records, police reviewed footage from multiple surveillance cameras that showed an SUV following the victim’s vehicle.
Police obtained the license plate number on the SUV and did a search, which indicated the SUV was a 2018 Nissan Murano registered to Hertz, a rental car company.
A woman told police she had rented the SUV earlier in the week. She said Simmons gave her a ride in the vehicle, dropped her off at work around 9 a.m. Nov. 12 and then picked her up in the same SUV around 2 am. Nov. 13, hours after the shooting was reported.
Court records stated a cellphone belonging to Simmons reportedly was used to call the victim, and prosecutors said mapping of his cellphone showed it was being used in the area shortly before and after the shooting occurred.
In an interview with police, Simmons denied involvement in the killing and stated he had loaned his cellphone to another person. He then told police he was driving the Murano with others in the vehicle and said someone else in the SUV was using his phone to call West, court records said.
Simmons initially stated that he and others were meeting with the victim to buy marijuana but later told police that one of the people in the SUV intended to rob West.
Simmons told police he continued to follow the victim at the request of another person in the SUV. He added he was too scared to say anything at the time, court records said.
Once they reached the apartment building, Simmons said two people, including one with a rifle, exited the SUV to meet West. Simmons told police he saw the victim run away, then heard gunshots.
Simmons remained in the Jackson County jail Friday with bond set at $200,000 cash. He does not yet have an attorney listed.
A court hearing has not yet been scheduled.
