In the winter of 2017, a planned transaction of marijuana in a south Kansas City apartment complex parking lot took a fatal turn, ending the life of 25-year-old Travis Mills. On December 18, 2017, Mills had arranged to sell approximately $750 worth of marijuana, which he had recently acquired from Colorado, to a man named Malik S. Chapple. The meeting was set up by a woman who accompanied Mills to the prearranged location in the 1500 block of East 97th Street.
Chapple arrived at the
apartment complex with another man and a child in the back of his car. After initially getting into the back seat of Mills' car to supposedly weigh the marijuana, Chapple returned to his own vehicle. He came back moments later armed with a handgun. At the same time, the passenger from Chapple's car approached the driver's side of Mills' vehicle and began to fight with Mills. During this struggle, Chapple shot Mills. He then threatened the woman with the gun and demanded the marijuana before he and his passenger fled the scene. Travis Mills was transported to a hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
Investigators were able to track down Chapple by using his cellphone number, which they found through a computer search. The female witness who had been with Mills identified Chapple as the shooter. In December 2017, Jackson County prosecutors charged Malik S. Chapple, then 21 years old, with second-degree murder, robbery, endangering the welfare of a child, and armed criminal action.
In June 2019, Malik S. Chapple, then 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, robbery, and armed criminal action for his role in the death of Travis Mills. He was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison for the fatal shooting.
