Chase M. Murphy Pleads Guilty to Twin Armed Robberies in KC

Chase M. Murphy, 20, of Kansas City, Missouri, admitted in federal court today to two violent armed robberies—one at a Taco Bell and another inside a family’s home—using a firearm in both crimes. Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays.

On May 28, 2019, Murphy and an accomplice hurled a brick through the drive-through window of the Taco Bell at 5925 Independence Ave. Armed with handguns, they crawled through the shattered glass, pointed their weapons at two employees’ heads, and forced one to empty the cash register. They grabbed $300 and vanished the way they came—back through the broken window into the night.

Months later, on March 22, 2020, Murphy teamed up with co-defendant Cameron E. Scott, 20, of Kansas City, and an unidentified third man to storm a home in the 8100 block of Wayne Avenue. They forced entry and held seven people—three juveniles and four adults—at gunpoint. Demanding cash and marijuana, they terrorized the family, keeping one victim under direct threat while ransacking the residence. The crew stole $450, marijuana, a rifle, and a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

Police tracked the suspects when a vehicle matching witness descriptions was spotted fleeing the scene. Three men bailed out and ran into a house on Indiana Avenue. The driver returned later and took off—only for officers to lose sight of the car. Scott and Murphy were spotted fleeing on foot from the rear of the property, ducking into a wooded area near 93rd Street and Grandview Road. Officers chased them down and found both men hiding in a creek bed, soaked and breathing hard.

Inside the Indiana Avenue residence, officers discovered 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. Evidence tied the weapons directly to the home invasion. Scott had already 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 a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison without parole, up to life behind bars. The sentence, dictated by federal statute, will be decided by the court 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 Police Department, Raytown Police Department, and FBI as part of Operation LeGend—a federal crackdown on violent crime honoring four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, a victim of KC’s bloodiest year.

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