In the early morning hours of March 23, 2020, the life of 35-year-old Joshua Shawn Phillips was cut short in Bolivar, Missouri. Responding to a call of shots fired at a residence on West Buffalo Street at approximately 5:30 a.m., Bolivar Police officers discovered Phillips deceased on the living room floor. An investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a suspect, Michael James Ybarra Jr., also of Bolivar.
A witness at the scene reported seeing Ybarra use a semi-automatic pistol
to shoot Phillips multiple times before fleeing the residence. A peculiar detail at the crime scene, a large bucket of spilled white paint, proved to be a key piece of evidence. Investigators noted that anyone leaving the house would have had to step in the paint.
Later that morning, around 9:30 a.m., law enforcement located Ybarra at a residence just a couple of blocks from the scene of the shooting. After brief negotiations, he was taken into custody. Inside the apartment where Ybarra was found, officers discovered footprints made from white paint and a pair of Ybarra's boots with white paint on them, directly linking him to the crime scene. A 9mm handgun was also recovered.
Following the investigation, Michael James Ybarra Jr. was charged with class A felony first-degree murder and felony armed criminal action in Polk County Circuit Court. The case was later moved to Dallas County after a change of venue was granted. Ybarra, who was held on a $1.5 million bond, rejected a plea offer from the Polk County Prosecuting Attorney. His case was scheduled for a jury trial to be held from October 18 to October 22, 2021.
