Three KC Men Charged in Armed Carjacking That Resulted in Police Pursuit, Fatal Collision

Three KC Men Charged in Armed Carjacking That Resulted in Police Pursuit, Fatal Collision

Three KC Men Charged in Armed Carjacking That Resulted in Police Pursuit, Fatal Collision

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Missouri
27 August 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Operation LeGend

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three Kansas City, Missouri, men have been charged in federal court for their roles in an armed carjacking Monday night that led to a high-speed chase and a collision that killed another motorist.

Derrell M. Wade, also known as Derrelle, 19, Curtis R. Daniels, 18, and Michael A. Brown, 18, were charged in a two-count complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Aug. 26. They remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

The federal criminal complaint charges each of the defendants with participating in a carjacking that occurred on Monday, Aug. 24. The complaint also charges Wade with brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, Wade pointed a gun at the victim, identified in court documents as “T.R.,” as he was walking away from his parked vehicle, a gold 2007 Prius, at approximately 10:35 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 24. Wade allegedly pressed the barrel of his gun against T.R.’s forehead, and demanded, “give me your keys.” Another person took T.R.’s cell phone from his hand. T.R. was repeatedly struck in the back with an unknown object by a third person, and told to stay on his knees. The three men then fled in T.R.’s vehicle, the affidavit says.

T.R. immediately contacted law enforcement, and used his wife’s cell phone to track his stolen cell phone, using the Find My Phone app. Police officers saw the stolen Prius driving southbound on Lister Avenue, passing over the main thoroughfare of East 23rd Street, at about 11:09 p.m. Officers pulled behind the vehicle, which the affidavit says was being driven by Wade, and the vehicle accelerated a high rate of speed away from the officers. Officers activated their emergency equipment and initiated a pursuit of the vehicle.

According to the affidavit, Wade drove at speeds up to 75 miles per hour and ran several stop signs during the pursuit. When Wade ran the stop sign at 23rd Street and Lawn Avenue, the Prius collided with another vehicle. This collision resulted in the fatality of an occupant from that vehicle.

Wade left the driver’s seat and attempted to run away. Wade, who appeared to be limping, fell to the ground. As he was falling, the affidavit says, he pulled a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun from his waistband and threw it in the grass.

Brown got out of the passenger side rear door of the Prius and began running toward Elmwood Avenue. He was found hiding near a grill in a residential backyard and arrested.

Daniels, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Prius, was arrested without incident.

The charges contained in this complaint are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily A. Morgan. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

Operation LeGend
Operation LeGend is a federal partnership with local law enforcement to address the increase in homicides and violent crime in Kansas City, Mo., in 2020. The operation honors the memory of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, one of the youngest fatalities during a record-breaking year of homicides and shootings. Additional federal agents were assigned to the operation from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.