A 20-year-old Kansas City man admitted in federal court today to holding up a Taco Bell at gunpoint before invading a family’s home weeks later, stealing cash, drugs, and firearms while threatening victims with a loaded weapon. Chase M. Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence, charges stemming from two brazen attacks in 2019 and 2020.
On May 28, 2019, Murphy smashed through the drive-through window of the Taco Bell at 5925 Independence Ave. with a brick. Armed with a handgun and flanked by an accomplice, he crawled through the shattered glass, pointed the weapon at two employees’ heads, and ordered one to empty the register. The pair grabbed $300 before fleeing through the same broken window, leaving behind a scene of terror and broken glass.
Months later, on March 22, 2020, Murphy returned to the streets with a deadlier mission. Alongside co-defendant Cameron E. Scott, 20, of Kansas City, Mo., and an unidentified third man, Murphy forced his way into a residence in the 8100 block of Wayne Avenue. Seven people — three juveniles and four adults — were held at gunpoint. One was threatened while the intruders demanded money and marijuana. They left with $450, a rifle, a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol, and drugs.
Police quickly responded, tracking a vehicle matching witness descriptions to the 9200 block of Indiana Avenue. Three men bailed and fled into a nearby home. The driver returned and sped off, vanishing from sight. Officers spotted Scott and Murphy exiting the back of the residence and running toward a wooded area. After a foot chase, both were found hiding in a creek bed, soaked and breathless, with no way out.
A search of the Indiana Avenue home uncovered a black suitcase stashed in the attic. Inside: the stolen Taurus 9mm and a second firearm, a Smith and Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol. Both weapons tied directly to the armed invasion. Scott pleaded guilty on June 2, 2021, to one count of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Murphy now faces the same reckoning.
Under federal law, Murphy faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison without parole, up to life behind bars. The court will determine his final sentence after a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashleigh A. Ragner and investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Raytown, Mo., Police Department, and the FBI — all part of Operation LeGend, the federal crackdown on violent crime sparked by the death of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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