Kansas man may face 10 years in prison for crash that killed 2, including KCPD officer
Prosecutors are seeking a 10-year sentence for a man who pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in a 2023 crash that killed two, including a Kansas City police officer.
Jerron Lightfoot, 20, was charged a year ago in a fatal crash that claimed the lives of KCPD Officer James Muhlbauer, his police dog Champ and pedestiran Jesse Eckes.
Prosecutors filed a sentencing memorandum in Jackson County Circuit Court this week requesting 10 years in prison for each class C felony charge, to be served concurrently. In the document, prosecutors said they agreed to seek concurrent time at a sentencing hearing in exchange for Lightfoot’s plea of guilty to each count.
The charges faced public scrutiny last year, with some saying involuntary manslaughter is not enough. Less than a week after Lightfoot’s arrest, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker publicly addressed those concerns. She explained that the law did not support murder charges in this case.
“They are the highest charges I could level,” she said a year ago.
In their sentencing request to the court this week, prosecutors once again addressed the possibility of public disapproval of the charges.
“The State acknowledges that the families of both victims have different opinions as to an appropriate outcome in this case, and that was taken into consideration with the plea agreement,” prosecutors wrote in the memorandum to the court.
The crash happened around 10:15 p.m. Feb. 15, 2023, when Muhlbauer’s patrol car was hit by a white Ford Fusion near Truman Road and Benton Boulevard. Prosecutors allege that as Muhlbauer drove into the intersection, Lightfoot sped into the intersection past a red light and collided with the police vehicle, pushing it into Eckes.
The impact killed Muhlbauer and his K9 Champ riding in the patrol vehicle with him. Eckes died after being pinned underneath the vehicle.
Lightfoot remained at the scene of the crash and told officers the reason for the crash was a malfunction of his breaks, according to a police affidavit. When police checked the Airbag Control Module from Lightfoot’s vehicle, it showed that the brakes were functioning properly at the time of the collision and that Lightfoot was accelerating in the moments leading up to the crash, prosecutors said.
Two seconds before the crash, prosecutors allege, Lightfoot was traveling 89 miles per hour and hit Muhlbauer’s patrol car at 62 miles per hour. The posted speed limit in the area is 35 miles per hour.
In their sentencing request, prosecutors addressed Lightfoot’s history with careless driving charges, having faced two of them before the fatal crash in February 2023.
“The Defendant has shown utter disrespect for the danger that reckless driving poses to not only himself, but to others as well,” prosecutors said.
Lightfoot’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the sentencing request made by prosecutors this week.
Lightfoot’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. April 24 in Division 1 of Jackson County Circuit Court.
The Star’s Eric Adler, Bill Lukitsch and Katie Moore contributed to this report.
