KC man charged in killing of 18-year-old; suspect searched stand-your-ground laws
A Kansas City man was driving home shortly after 5 p.m. April 1 when he saw multiple people fighting in a ditch in front of a home.
Then, he watched as one man pulled out a gun and shot another two to three times at close range in the 9400 block of East 39th Street. The driver threw his car in reverse and accelerated back down the street, where he told two people outside to call 911.
Wounded was 18-year-old Damen Taylor, who was rushed to Truman Medical Center, where he died, police said.
The witness was among at least eight people interviewed by officers. Their investigation led police to pick up Caylon Dudley, 24.
In an interview with detectives two days after the shooting, Dudley said he got a call from his brother, who needed help getting his automobile jack back from someone. There, they got into an argument with people at a house in the area and one of the men inside came out to fight. Agreeing to fight the man, Dudley’s brother handed him his jacket and his gun, he told police.
The fight moved to a ditch nearby and a woman came outside and started hitting Dudley’s brother. Dudley held the gun in his right hand and held back the woman with his left, he told police.
Taylor then came outside and began hitting Dudley’s brother, Dudley told police. Taylor stepped back, and when he went to hit Dudley’s brother again, Dudley pointed the gun and fired twice, according to a probable cause statement.
When Dudley realized he had shot Taylor, he ran to his car and drove off, police said.
By the time officers arrived, the shooter had fled, according to the Kansas City Police Department. Officers found a small amount of blood in the street and discovered two 9mm shell casings.
Dudley told police he shot because he feared for his own safety, a detective wrote in court records. He consented for police to search his phone, which showed he had searched the internet for stand-your-ground laws, according to court records.
Jackson County prosecutors have since charged Dudley with second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
His preliminary hearing was set for May 28.
Taylor’s killing marked the 42nd homicide this year in Kansas City, according to data kept by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. There had been 37 killings by that time last year.
