KC man pleads guilty to illegally possessing gun used to kill off-duty firefighter
A Kansas City man admitted in federal court Wednesday to illegally possessing a firearm converted into a machine gun, which was used to kill an off-duty firefighter in October.
Ja’Von Taylor, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possessing a machine gun after Anthony Santi, 41, was shot during an altercation outside an Independence gas station on Oct. 6.
Taylor possessed the Glock .40-caliber handgun, which had been converted into a machine gun, despite having previous convictions for robbery and marijuana distribution charges, according to federal prosecutors with the Western District of Missouri.
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from owning firearms or ammunition.
The 23-year-old’s plea comes months after the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office declined to charge the woman who shot Santi, saying she was protected under a Missouri self-defense law.
The shooting
Santi was shot around 2:30 p.m. Oct. 6 outside a gas station on 11100 East U.S. 40 Highway in Independence, according to previous statements from police.
Taylor was reportedly arguing with a clerk that day about not having the cigars he wanted when Santi intervened and allegedly asked the 23-year-old to leave. Taylor then “jumped away” from Santi and began to threaten him, court documents indicate.
Surveillance video captured the men taking their argument outside, when Taylor allegedly grabbed the gun out of his SUV. The two struggled over the weapon before Santi put Taylor in a headlock.
A woman then got out of the SUV and grabbed the gun, attempting to stop the fight, according to prosecutors. Security video showed she eventually shot Santi in the back, killing him.
Taylor was taken into custody following the incident, and officers searching his vehicle found the machine gun, a broken extended magazine, and a 15-round magazine. The 23-year-old told police he had bought the gun off the street for $500, according to federal prosecutors.
‘Stand your ground’
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced after the shooting that it would not press charges against the woman, citing Missouri’s “stand your ground” self-defense law.
“Once outside, the facts specifically demonstrate that the shooting female fired a single shot in defense of the man who was being strangled,” a release from the office reads.
Video and an account from a witness suggest that Taylor was unable to talk or breathe, prosecutors say. The witness noted Taylor began to turn purple, and the woman holding the gun allegedly begged Santi to stop.
“The witness believed that he heard the victim of the shooting say to the man he was choking, ‘I’m killing you,’” the prosecutor’s office said.
Because of the evidence codified in the law, the release stated, prosecutors were required to decline the case.
According to Santi’s obituary, the 41-year-old joined the Kansas City Fire Department in 2011 as a firefighter and EMT. His daughter was “the light of his life.”
Taylor is facing a sentence of up to 25 years in federal prison without parole. He remains in federal custody without bond.
His sentence hearing is scheduled for Aug. 3.
The Star’s Andrea Klick and Anna Spoerre contributed to this report.