Samuel A. Hewitt III, a 39-year-old male, lost his life following a violent altercation in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 24, 2014. Police were dispatched to the 8600 block of Thompson Avenue after reports of a shooting and discovered Hewitt inside a vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. The Jackson County Medical Examiner subsequently ruled the death a homicide, determining that the victim had sustained a contact-range gunshot wound to the head.
Witnesses at the scene provided investigators with a disturbing account of the events leading up to the fatality. Testimony indicated that Hewitt had been involved in a physical fight outside a residence, during which a female witness attempted to intervene but was struck by another individual. Observers stated that Hewitt was eventually left lying unresponsive on the ground. According to court records, the suspect then approached the defenseless victim, lifted his head, pointed a firearm at him, and fired a single shot. One neighbor reported hearing a woman scream, 'You shot him,' as vehicles were seen fleeing the area immediately after the gunfire.
Law enforcement identified the suspect as Melvin M. McCaslin, an Independence resident who was 42 years old at the time of the charges. In February 2015, several months after the incident, Jackson County prosecutors formally charged McCaslin with second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Authorities noted that McCaslin was on probation for a separate drug possession case at the time of the shooting. Following a trial in September 2016, a Jackson County jury found McCaslin guilty of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action, with his sentencing scheduled for later that year.
