Victim told mother he was scared, being followed before fatal KC shooting
A 19-year-old Kansas City man is facing a murder charge in connection with a fatal shooting last week in Kansas City’s North Town Fork Creek neighborhood, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office charged Ke’Montae L. Phillips with one count of second-degree murder and one count of armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Richaud Conley.
Officers responded to the shooting just before 5:50 p.m. on March 10, near East 55th Street and Chestnut Avenue. There, they found Conley suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
According to court documents, detectives interviewed Conley’s mother, who said her son had been having issues with his ex-girlfriend’s brother after he ended the relationship.
His mother told detectives that about a week before he was killed, the two were walking when his ex-girlfriend’s brother approached them. The man made several statements toward Conley regarding the relationship going sour with his sister, according to court documents.
The man’s comments were so aggressive that he was struck in the face multiple times, according to court documents. Court documents do not identify who hit him; that name is redacted.
At that point, another person, armed with a rifle-style firearm, approached, said something aggressive and left with Conley’s ex-girlfriend’s brother, according to court documents.
Conley’s mother told detectives that on the day of the shooting, she had her son walk to meet her. As they walked together, she told detectives that she noticed he had a rifle tucked into his pants. Conley had told her that he was scared and that “they are following me,” according to court documents. His mother, however, couldn’t get a clear idea of what he meant.
As they were walking home, the same man who had approached them a week before exited a vehicle and walked toward them. He said something to Conley and pulled out a rifle-style firearm with a red laser light attached to it.
The man allegedly began firing, and Conley shielded his mother as they ran to a field, where she noticed Conley had been struck by gunfire, she told detectives.
In the aftermath, Conley’s mother moved his firearm and later asked a family member to retrieve it from the scene, according to court documents. Another witness said the gun appeared to accidentally discharge while his mother handled it.
Detectives spoke with multiple witnesses who described hearing a barrage of automatic gunfire, followed by five or six gunshots, according to court documents. The gunfire seemed to come from two separate firearms due to the difference in the sound of the gunfire.
Detectives found 27 .300 Blackout casings and six 9mm casings from the crime scene. They also found one spent .223 casing.
Detectives used dash cam video from a passing vehicle, as well as city cameras and license plate readers, to identify Phillips as a suspect in the shooting, according to court documents.
Phillips was being held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $250,000 cash-only bond.
If convicted, Phillips faces 10 to 30 years in prison, or life imprisonment.
This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 12:22 PM.
