Grandview man, 20, faces his second murder accusation in four years

A 20-year-old Grandview man who received probation in a 2010 killing was accused Tuesday of killing another person last month in a southeast Kansas City parking lot.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Kelly J. Lewis with first-degree murder in the Sept. 20 shooting of Dominique Johnson, 23.

They also charged Lewis with unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. Prosecutors requested a $500,000 bond.

Police found Johnson’s body in a parking lot in the 7200 block of East 88th Terrace. A second victim had been wounded in the wrist.

According to court records, witnesses told police that several people involved in a disturbance pulled out guns. After one person handed a gun to Lewis, he allegedly shot Johnson.

After Johnson fell to the ground, Lewis kept shooting at him and allegedly said, “That’s what you get, punk.”

An autopsy later revealed that Johnson was shot 10 times.

According to Jackson County court records, Lewis was placed on probation in 2012 after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the April 2010 killing of Helen Ragan of Kansas City.

Ragan, a Blue Valley School District bus driver, and her husband were watching a basketball game on television in their south Kansas City home when Lewis and another man fired wildly into the dwelling. Ragan died instantly.

Prosecutors initially charged Lewis and the other man with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The case began to weaken when defense lawyers mounted a strong legal challenge to recorded confessions made by a police informant.

Prosecutors, who had no eyewitness testimony, also had to contend with a claim that the shooters had fired in self-defense against rival gang members in the area. Ultimately they agreed to a plea agreement that included probation for a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter and a three-year prison term for armed criminal action.

Lewis was released on probation in February and ordered to obey all laws and stay away from dangerous weapons. He was arrested on a probation violation warrant earlier this month and ordered held on a $250,000 cash-only bond.

The Kansas City Star featured Lewis’ case prominently in its recent series “Getting Off Easy,” which revealed that between 2009 and 2013, Jackson County judges gave more probation for second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter charges than those in any other jurisdiction in the state.

This story was originally published October 21, 2014 at 1:50 PM.