Two men accused in the Crown Center mass shooting in January were convicted on four charges by a Jackson County judge on Friday.
Joel Olivas, 24, and Brian Favela, 23, are found guilty of two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of armed criminal action and three counts of second-degree harassment. One charge of unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action was dismissed, with the president saying the state had not presented enough evidence to circumvent Missouri’s self-defense laws.
Olivas and Favela waived their right to a jury trial and agreed to a judicial trial, allowing the presiding judge to decide their cases.
“Today’s sentence indicates a level of accountability that this office will pursue for individuals who engage in this type of treasonous conduct, even when the defendants are armed with Missouri’s very generous self-defense laws,” said Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker in a statement. statement.
“We will take all possible steps to hold offenders accountable for their own criminal conduct. I am grateful for this trial team who worked so hard and so quickly to bring these perpetrators to justice. And I am so grateful to the management team at Crown Center and Hallmark and the KCPD, who helped in every way possible to reach today’s verdict,” she said.
The verdict is set for December 12 at 2 p.m
Prosecutors allege the shootings are gang-related
The Jan. 17 shooting began around 5:45 p.m. when two groups began arguing at the mall in the 2400 block of Grand Boulevard, according to court documents.
One witness told police they heard the two groups shouting “east side” and “west side” along with other expletives before the shooting.
Court documents say Olivas and Favela yelled at the opposing party to stop running and pointed to their weapons before a member of the other group turned and fired a weapon. Olivas and Favela then returned fire as two men ran away without firing a weapon.
Surveillance footage showed Favela shooting what appeared to be a MAC-10 assault weapon and Olivas firing a handgun that could be fired as an automatic weapon, according to court documents.
Police said Olivas and Favela identified themselves as part of an East Side gang and shot at people who allegedly identified themselves as part of a West Side gang.
The six victims, who range in age from late teens to at least 50 years old, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
During the trial, attorneys for Olivas and Favela argued that they shot people at the mall in self-defense, according to court documents.
Reading out the verdict, the presiding judge said they had not proven self-defense on two counts, as the duo allegedly chased the group down a corridor and two men from the other group retreated when the shooting started.
According to court records, Olivas and Favela discovered that members of the other group would be at Crown Center. Once at Crown Center, Olivas began recording on his phone, and the video reportedly shows Favela and Olivas making threats as they follow people through Crown Center.
Crime scene technicians found 54 spent shell casings, according to a police statement. The shell casings were found primarily between The Coterie Theater and Sheridan’s Ice Cream on the first floor. Several restaurants suffered extensive damage from the gunfire, police said.
Olivas and Favela will be held in custody until sentencing.
The Star’s Bob Cronkleton and Kendrick Calfee contributed to this reporting.
