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Press Release

KC Man Sentenced for Robbing Family, Business at Gunpoint

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man who was charged in two separate federal indictments has been sentenced in federal court for the armed robberies of a local business and a family in their residence.

Chase M. Murphy, 21, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Wednesday, June 22, to 12 years and three months in federal prison without parole.

On Nov. 17, 2021, Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence.

Murphy admitted that he used a firearm to rob the Taco Bell at 5925 Independence Ave., Kansas City, Mo., on May 28, 2019.  A brick was thrown through the drive-through window of the Taco Bell, shattering the glass. Murphy and another person, both carrying handguns, entered the restaurant through the broken window. They pointed their guns at two employees and ordered one to open the cash register. Murphy hit an employee in the back of the head with a firearm, then held a gun against his neck. They took $300 from the register and fled through the broken window.

Murphy also admitted, in a separate and unrelated case, that he robbed a family in their home at gunpoint with co-defendant Cameron E. Scott, 20, of Kansas City, Mo. Scott was sentenced on March 8, 2022, to seven years and three months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to one count of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence.

Murphy and Scott (along with an unidentified third man) robbed a group of three juveniles (including a 10-year-old child) and four adults at gunpoint on March 22, 2020. The three men forced their way into a residence in the 8100 block of Wayne Avenue in Kansas City, Mo., and pointed firearms at multiple victims (mostly members of the same family). They held one of the victims at gunpoint while demanding money and marijuana.

The three men stole $450, marijuana, a rifle and a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol then left the residence. Officers saw a car matching the description a witness gave of the robbers’ vehicle. Three men got out of the vehicle and ran into a residence in the 9200 block of Indiana Avenue in Kansas City, Mo. Soon afterward, the driver of the vehicle returned to the car and left. Officers attempted to follow the vehicle but lost sight of it. Murphy and Scott were seen leaving from the back of the residence. When officers announced themselves, they fled into a wooded area. A short time later, Murphy and Scott were seen walking in the tree line near 93rd Street and Grandview Road. Officers tried to approach them, but they fled on foot again. Officers gave chase and ultimately found them hiding in a creek bed.

Officers searched the residence on Indiana Avenue. In the attic, they found a black suitcase with a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol (which matched the description of the firearm taken during the robbery) and a Smith and Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol.

These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashleigh A. Ragner. They were investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Raytown, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

Operation LeGend

Operation LeGend is a federal partnership with local law enforcement to address the increase in homicides and violent crime in Kansas City, Mo., in 2020. The operation honors the memory of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, one of the youngest fatalities during a record-breaking year of homicides and shootings. Additional federal agents were assigned to the operation from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Updated June 23, 2022

Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods