KC man shot by police pleads guilty to gun, vehicle theft charges, gets 5 years
A Kansas City man who was shot by police while attempting to flee from an arrest earlier this year pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Robert Lee Beebe, 35, pleaded guilty to one count each of unlawful possession of a firearm and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle. A charge of resisting arrest was dismissed.
Jackson County Judge Bryan E. Round accepted Beebe’s plea, found him guilty and sentenced him to five years in prison for each count, with the sentences running concurrently.
Round recommended that Beebe be placed in a 120-day program chosen by the Missouri Department of Corrections. If Beebe successfully completes the program, he could be released on probation. If not, he may have to serve his prison sentence.
According to court documents, Kansas City police officers attempted to pull over a gray Jeep that Beebe was a passenger in about 5:15 p.m. on March 18 for a traffic violation. The Jeep’s driver, however, fled and the Jeep was found unoccupied in a Kansas City, Kansas, parking garage.
An officer in a police helicopter overhead following the pursuit told officers the occupants of the Jeep got inside a black Infiniti, with the driver of the Jeep now the passenger. The driver of the Infiniti was later identified as Beebe.
Kansas Highway Patrol troopers and the police helicopter followed the Infiniti to the state line. At one point, the passenger bailed from the car and was taken into custody in the 700 block of Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City, Kansas.
Kansas Highway Patrol troopers discontinued pursuit when the Infiniti crossed over into Missouri. The police helicopter continued to follow, and officers saw Beebe drive into oncoming traffic and fail to stop at several traffic lights. He then pulled into a parking lot in the 1600 block of Jefferson Street in Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood.
Two Kansas City police officers approached the Infiniti and told Beebe to exit the vehicle. A witness who was along for a ride-along with one of the officers told police that Beebe drove backwards, then forwards and then backwards again, hitting the police vehicle on the second pass, according to court documents.
The witness said she ducked and then heard gunshots and yelling. One of the officers had fired at least five shots at Beebe, hitting and injuring him, according to court documents. No one else was injured.
After the shooting, an ambulance took him to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. Investigators determined the Infiniti had been stolen. They also allegedly recovered a loaded gun from the car.
