Prosecutors recommend sentence for ex-Kansas City detective in Cameron Lamb shooting death
Jackson County prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence former Kansas City Det. Eric DeValkenaere to nine years in prison for the shooting death of Cameron Lamb.
DeValkenaere, 43, was convicted in November of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the Dec. 3, 2019, killing in Lamb’s back yard.
The plainclothes detective fatally shot Lamb as the 26-year-old backed his pickup truck into the garage of his home at 4154 College Ave.
In an 11-page sentencing memorandum, prosecutors asked Judge J. Dale Youngs to sentence DeValkenaere to four years on the manslaughter conviction and nine years for the armed criminal action charge. Prosecutors asked that those prison sentences run concurrently.
The sentencing is scheduled to take place Friday afternoon in the Jackson County Courthouse in downtown Kansas City.
Youngs could sentence DeValkenaere to four years in prison on the manslaughter conviction and at least three years for the armed criminal action charge. The judge will decide if those are to be served concurrently or consecutively.
DeValkenaere plans to appeal his conviction and will remain free on bond after his sentencing Friday.
Prosecutors said DeValkenaere has not accepted responsibility for Lamb’s death or his role in the events that led up to the shooting.
Prosecutors said Lamb “was a beloved son, brother, and father of three young children. Mr. Lamb’s family and children will never see him alive again. As in any similar circumstance, there should be accountability for this crime.”
In the defense’s memorandum, attorney Dawn Parsons asked for leniency in sentencing and wrote that DeValkenaere “deserves a sentence that takes into account his character and contributions to this community.”
The shooting happened after officers investigating an unrelated vehicle crash reported a red pickup chasing a purple Ford Mustang. Helicopter officers spotted the truck driven by Lamb and followed the vehicle to his residence.
DeValkenaere said he fired several shots after Lamb pointed a gun at his partner, detective Troy Schwalm. Police later found Lamb inside the truck with his left arm and head hanging out of the driver’s side window. A handgun was found on the ground near Lamb’s left hand, police said at the time.
During the criminal trial, prosecutors alleged the crime scene was staged and evidence was planted. They also said it took only nine seconds form the time DeValkenaere arrived at the front yard of the house to the moment he fatally shot Lamb.
Minutes after the shooting, DeValkenaere radioed to commanders and other officers that when he and Schwalm arrived, they received information that there were guns involved in the chase with the red pickup truck and the purple Mustang.
That set set in motion “a thin narrative that this event involved some form of violence known to police at the time,” prosecutors said in their memorandum.
However, at trial, when confronted with inconsistencies in his statements, DeValkenaere could offer no credible explanation, prosecutors said.
“Despite the false and divisive narratives that have been propagated by so many to undermine these proceedings and this Court’s verdict and to color Mr. Lamb as a fleeing and violent felon....They are not in reasonable dispute,” prosecutors said.
In their 12-page pleading, defense attorneys said DeValkenaere was born and raised in Kansas City and is the son of a retired Kansas City police officer. Prior to becoming a sworn police officer, DeValkenaere worked a year in the department’s detention facility. He later worked various assignments including patrol, homicide and with the violent offender unit. DeValkenaere received numerous awards and recognition for his service.
The court received 200 letters from family, colleagues, neighbors and others on DeValkenaere’s behalf.
Parsons wrote that prosecutors did not have a plan in place to ensure DeValkenaere’s safety while incarcerated.
“The extraordinary notoriety and extensive media coverage coupled with Eric’s status as a former police officer make Eric unusually susceptible to prison abuse,” defense attorneys said.
“Eric will be a walking target in prison — not only as a result of convictions he directly participated in during his nearly two decades of service as a law enforcement officer, but also simply because he represents authority and law enforcement in general.”
Prison time is mandatory for the armed criminal action conviction, but placing DeValkenaere in indefinite solitary confinement is not a solution, his attorney said.
Parsons asked Youngs to consider the significant and overwhelming amount of evidence that calls for a mitigated sentence.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 12:34 PM.
