In the early hours of a Friday morning in the Oak Park Northwest neighborhood of Kansas City, a dispute escalated into a fatal encounter for 31-year-old Mark Young. On January 27, 2023, inside a residence on Chestnut Avenue, a violent altercation broke out, tragically cutting Young's life short. The conflict allegedly began after Young was accused of hitting his girlfriend, who was a relative of two brothers present at the scene.
Responding to a call about a shooting at approximately
12:30 a.m., Kansas City police officers arrived to a grim scene. They discovered a woman in the living room with a gunshot wound to her arm. Nearby lay Mark Young, who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his back and head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators found ten 9mm shell casings in the living room, along with an empty handgun near Young’s body and a clothing iron. A trail of blood leading from the street to the house hinted at the struggle that had taken place.
The investigation quickly led to two suspects, brothers Lavert R. Bowman, 45, and Lamonte D. Bowman, 49. The two men had appeared at a local hospital with injuries they claimed were from a fight a few blocks away from the actual crime scene. Authorities, however, connected them to the shooting on Chestnut Avenue. The woman who was shot, Young's girlfriend, told investigators she had tried to shield him from the gunfire. Evidence and witness statements pointed to the Bowman brothers fighting with Young and then shooting him before seeking medical attention for their own injuries sustained in the altercation.
Following the investigation, Jackson County prosecutors charged both Lavert and Lamonte Bowman with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Both men were taken into custody and held on a $250,000 bond. During the investigation, a handgun with what appeared to be blood on it was discovered in a sewer drain near the crime scene. One of the brothers reportedly denied having a firearm, only admitting to being in a fight.
