On November 7, 2015, police in Kansas City, Missouri, responded to a reported shooting near the intersection of 41st Street and Prospect Avenue just before noon. Upon arrival, officers discovered 32-year-old Kevin L. Durham, Sr. inside a parked vehicle, suffering from fatal gunshot wounds. Witnesses at the scene reported that Durham had been sitting in his car when a man exited a nearby van, approached him, and fired multiple shots before fleeing.
Durham was pronounced dead shortly after authorities arrived.
Investigators utilized surveillance footage from a nearby business and digital images from a public transportation project to identify the vehicle involved, a light blue minivan. Additional evidence, including social media posts, helped detectives link the van and the shooter's description to a suspect named Lakeith R. Courtney, also known as 'Lil Booka.' Authorities determined that Courtney had argued with Durham prior to the shooting. Despite being identified relatively quickly, Courtney fled the jurisdiction, prompting a manhunt that extended to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was believed to be hiding in early 2016.
Lakeith Courtney was eventually apprehended and returned to Missouri to face charges. Although he was initially charged with first-degree murder, legal proceedings culminated in June 2019 when Courtney entered a guilty plea to reduced charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. During the plea hearing, he admitted to driving his girlfriend's minivan to the location, walking up to Durham's vehicle, and shooting him with a semiautomatic pistol.
Following his guilty plea, a judge sentenced Courtney to twenty-four years in prison for the murder charge and three years for armed criminal action, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently. Years later, in 2023, Courtney attempted to appeal for post-conviction relief, arguing that the court should have considered evidence of self-defense during his sentencing. The Missouri Court of Appeals denied his motion, affirming that his guilty plea had waived his right to claim self-defense and upholding the twenty-four-year sentence.
