Kansas Man Shoots Attempted Car Thief After Leaving Car Running Outside Store, Now Faces Murder Charges

KANSAS CITY, MO — A man is being charged with second-degree murder thanks to impulsive action he took while making a bad choice in parking his car.

Prosecutors charged a man with second-degree murder on Thursday afternoon following an early morning shooting where the suspect claims the victim was trying to carjack him. DeAndre Simms, 24, is accused of armed criminal action in addition to the murder charge.

Officers went to a gas station in the 5000 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard at 3 a.m. Thursday where they found Keith A. Michael dead in the driver’s seat of a car. Court documents say that Simms told police he shot Michael because he was trying to steal his car.

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Simms decided to park his car and leave it running while he went into a convenience store — and although victim-blaming is not a worthwhile effort, it’s incredibly unwise to leave your car parked running.

It’s just… real bad.

He told detectives that he left the car running when he went inside the convenience store, and while he was inside he saw Michael leave an SUV and try to get in his car. Simms says he left the store and shot the victim, stating he was “defending my property”. He added that he didn’t know Michael and didn’t see that he had any weapons.

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He didn’t bother to see what the would-be robber had in terms of a potential threat.

This is a basic self-defensive rule: if you’re defending your life or the lives of innocent people, you’re in the realm of potential deadly self-defense.

A car being stolen because you left it on isn’t in that realm.

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