KC man sentenced to 14 years in fatal shooting at Van Brunt gas station
A Jackson County judge sentenced a Kansas City man to 14 years in prison for a fatal December shooting during a dispute at a gas station, according to court records.
Ramel Antonio Morgan, who turns 21 on Sunday, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Michael Weintraub on Dec. 7 at a gas station in the 2900 block of Van Brunt Boulevard.
As part of a plea agreement, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful use of a weapon were dismissed.
According to court records, Kansas City police officers responded to reports of a shooting about 11:50 p.m. at the Express Stop 5, a Phillips 66 gas station.
There, officers were unable to find a victim. A witness told police that a man had exited the store and fired several shots toward a silver Ford Mustang in the gas station’s parking lot.
The man then ran away, heading south. The witness told officers that surveillance video captured the shooting. Officers found a 9 mm shell casing and a bullet fragment from the parking lot.
About 40 minutes later, police received a call from a hospital saying a shooting victim, later identified as Weintraub, arrived in a silver Ford Mustang with life-threatening gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead about 2 a.m.
Responding officers found the vehicle and saw that the rear window was shattered and there were apparent bullet strikes to the lower portion of the rear window frame. A bullet fragment was also found on the passenger side of the spoiler. Officers also found a handgun, a Glock 22, on the front passenger floorboard.
Surveillance footage from the gas station showed Morgan approaching the passenger side of the Mustang, where he had a brief exchange with Weintraub before firing several shots into the vehicle, according to court documents. Morgan then fled.
A witness called a relative, who picked up the witness and another person and took them to a home. The witness told police that Morgan arrived later and admitted to the shooting, saying he shot Weintraub after seeing him with a gun, according to court documents.
The witness told police that Morgan and Weintraub allegedly had a romantic relationship with the same woman, according to court documents.
