Kansas City man who was in violence deterrence program sentenced to prison
A Kansas City man who was involved in a violence deterrence program known as SAVE KC has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.
Otis W. Brown was sentenced to 18.5 years in prison for the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, property damage and interference with the legal process, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. The sentence will run consecutively with a seven-year sentence for a probation violation.
The charges are related to events that police say occurred when Brown was questioned about a fatal shooting in September 2024. Brown was originally charged with second-degree murder in that shooting, but the charge was later dropped.
SAVE KC, short for Stand Against Violence, Everyone Everywhere Every Day is a new coalition of community partners, social service agencies and law enforcement. It works by identifying those most likely to commit or be victims of violent crimes and invites them to a “call-in” meeting featuring messages from police, religious leaders and victims’ families. It includes aggressive monitoring and offers support like counseling and job opportunities to help people transition out of a life of violence.
According to court documents, police approached Brown on Sept. 25, 2024, to question him about his connection to a fatal shooting on Sept. 3 that killed 39-year-old Shroy Lapsely. Brown allegedly fled on foot while reaching into his waistband.
Officers took him into custody and attempted to collect a court-mandated DNA sample to determine if the gun was his, but Brown allegedly refused to comply. He flipped chairs and a table, damaging the walls of the interview room, as well as threatening several officers, according to court documents.
Brown was also charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting of Lapsely, which also injured a woman. A spokesperson with the prosecutor’s office said that charge was later dropped because investigators were unable to locate a witness whose testimony was vital.
The day of the shooting
Just before the shooting, police were called by employees around 11:30 a.m. to a Philips 66 gas station at 5425 Prospect Ave. to remove Lapsely and a woman, who then headed south on East 55th Street toward South Benton Avenue. Officers heard gunshots a few minutes later and found both victims on the street with gunshot wounds.
While the woman was recovering from her gunshot wound at Research Medical Center, she reportedly told officers that Brown had approached her and Lapsely at the intersection on foot and fired three shots at them.
The woman said that she immediately recognized Brown, and that he would have been well acquainted with Lapsely, according to court documents.
Another witness familiar with both Brown and Lapsely told police that Brown and the woman had previously dated, and that Brown had become upset when she began dating Lapsely.
Previous reporting from the Star’s Ilana Arougheti and Kendrick Calfee were used in this piece.
