On the night of September 4, 2019, a violent tragedy unfolded in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Belton, Missouri, claiming the life of 25-year-old Timothy Hunter. The incident stemmed from a planned narcotics transaction that turned deadly due to a scheme involving counterfeit currency. Hunter had been contacted via Facebook by a young woman seeking to purchase marijuana.
Unbeknownst to him, the buyer was part of a group of five individuals who had conspired to use a prop 'movie money' $100 bill to steal the drugs rather than pay for them.
The transaction was arranged to take place at the Belton Heights Apartments in the 1000 block of North Scott Avenue. When the group arrived in a white Buick sedan, Hunter approached the vehicle to complete the exchange. Inside the car were five young adults and teenagers: 19-year-old Crishon Marquese Willis, 18-year-old Makayla Marie Davis, 20-year-old Shane M. Pierce, 18-year-old Alea Marie Campbell, and 18-year-old Andre Alonzo McKinney III. As the exchange occurred at the passenger window, the situation quickly escalated when the group attempted to flee with the drugs without providing valid payment.
According to court records, the driver attempted to speed away, but the vehicle was initially in reverse, causing it to lurch backward. In the ensuing chaos, Hunter was shot once in the chest. Emergency responders arrived at the scene around 11:30 p.m. to find him critically wounded; he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Investigators located the counterfeit bill, stained with blood, near his body. The bill was clearly marked 'for movie use only,' confirming the deceptive motive behind the robbery attempt.
In the days following the homicide, law enforcement officers from the Belton Police Department and the Metropolitan Area Major Case Squad worked to identify and apprehend the suspects. The investigation led to the arrests of all five individuals involved in the plot. Authorities tracked several of the suspects to a Greyhound bus station in Kansas City, where they were reportedly attempting to flee the area.
Prosecutors subsequently charged Crishon Willis, Makayla Davis, Shane Pierce, Alea Campbell, and Andre McKinney with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, forgery, and armed criminal action. Police alleged that Willis was the shooter who fired the fatal round from the back seat of the vehicle. The case underscored the lethal potential of what was intended to be a deceptive theft, leaving a family to mourn the sudden loss of a young man known affectionately to them as 'Timmy.'
