Two Kansas City men sentenced in Crown Center shooting that injured 6

Two Kansas City men were sentenced Friday for crimes stemming from a January 2024 shooting at Crown Center Stores, six people were injured.

Brian Favela, 23, and Joel Olivas, 24, were convicted of two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action, as well as three misdemeanor counts of second-degree harassment.

Judge Margene Burnett dismissed additional charges of illegal use of a weapon and criminal conduct involving a weapon, saying there was insufficient evidence to find them guilty under Missouri’s self-defense laws.

Favela and Olivas, who prosecutors say are East Side gang members, will be sentenced on December 12.

U.S. Attorney Jean Peters Baker said her office would hold people accountable for such violence, despite Missouri’s lax gun laws.

“Today’s verdict demonstrates the level of accountability this office will expect from those who engage in this type of deceptive conduct, even when defendants take advantage of Missouri’s very generous self-defense laws.”—Baker – wrote in the statement.

The January 17 shooting According to the Kansas City police at the time, they were caused by an argument between two groups of teenagers. In addition to the six people injured, several businesses on the lower level of Crown Center were damaged.