Here’s 5 things to know about the judge ruling on the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb
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KCPD officer found guilty in fatal shooting of Black man
Eric DeValkenaere, a Kansas City police detective, was found guilty of manslaughter on Nov. 19, 2021, in the December 2019 killing of Cameron Lamb, a Black man who was fatally shot in his own backyard. DeValkenaere was the first white Kansas City police officer in 80 years to face a criminal trial in the shooting death of a Black man.
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Last week, Judge J. Dale Youngs heard arguments in the criminal trial of Eric Devalkanaere, a white police officer charged with fatally shooting Cameron Lamb, a Black man who was killed while backing his pickup truck into a garage nearly two years ago.
The bench trial, requested by the defense instead of a jury trial, concluded Nov. 12.
Youngs was appointed to the bench by former Gov. Jay Nixon in 2009 to fill a vacancy left by Jackson County Circuit Judge John O’Malley, who retired that year.
Here are five other things to know about Youngs:
He received a bachelor’s from the University of Missouri-Columbia where he studied journalism and went on to the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law where he earned a law degree.
From 1996 to 2002, he prosecuted computer-related and consumer fraud crimes with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
The judge has been involved in several high profile cases this year in Kansas City.
In January, Youngs halted evictions for nearly two weeks. The order came days after two deputies shot a man who was being evicted in Blue Springs. He cited COVID-19 and recent social unrest as reasons for the temporary hold. The measure ended Jan. 24.
On Nov. 4 community activists called for Youngs to recuse himself from presiding over the DeValkenaere case. They alleged he may show favor toward Dawn Parsons, an attorney representing the police detective. Parsons previously served as an assistant Jackson County prosecutor. No court filings were submitted by the group that would give legal standing to their request.
Youngs came under fire for saying he “concurs on behalf” of the court that Kevin Strickland, whose innocence hearing was held last week, should be exonerated. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office said the comment indicated “an appearance of bias” and disqualified 16th Circuit Court judges, including Youngs, from hearing Strickland’s case.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 11:20 AM.
