Dominic Miller, one of several individuals implicated in a shooting incident that resulted in one fatality and multiple injuries, admitted to a weapons charge under a plea agreement.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Initially facing murder charges for firing shots after the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2024 Super Bowl triumph, a man was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison. Prosecutors noted the complexities of the case due to Missouri’s self-defense statutes.
Dominic Miller, who accepted a plea deal for a weapons charge, was one of at least six individuals who opened fire during the chaos, which prompted players, city officials, and a vast crowd of fans to seek shelter, as detailed in court documents.
The shooting took place near Kansas City’s historic Union Station just as a victory celebration, attended by an estimated one million fans, was wrapping up. Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a local radio show host, was tragically killed while attending the event with her family. Approximately two dozen others, including many children, were injured but survived the ordeal.
In total, firearms were brandished by 12 individuals, with the recovered weapons at the scene including at least two AR-style rifles, as indicated by court records.
“Missouri’s self-defense and defense-of-others laws require us to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any defendant charged was the initial aggressor or did not act lawfully in self-defense or in defense of others to refute justification,” the Jackson County prosecutor’s office stated in a written release.
The second-degree murder charge Miller initially faced carried a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
But Missouri is among more than 30 states that have adopted some version of stand-your-ground laws over the past two decades. While earlier laws allowed people to use force to protect themselves in their homes, the stand-your-ground principle provides even broader self-defense rights regardless of the location.
Police and prosecutors have said the shooting barrage started when one group of people confronted another for staring at them.
Lyndell Mays is accused of being the first person to start firing. After that, a 15-year-old began to shoot toward Mays and hit Miller, who also admitted firing several shots. Miller spent more than two years in custody, several months of which hospitalized in critical condition, his attorney, David Wiegert, said in a written statement.
“While we are very pleased to see his freedom restored, we remain concerned that he was charged with murder in the first place,” Wiegert said.
While expressing “deepest condolences” to Galvan’s family, Wiegert said a person who unintentionally strikes a third party while attempting to lawfully defend oneself or another is immune from criminal liability under state law.
Authorities initially said ballistics linked the bullet that killed Galvan to a handgun Miller admitted firing, but prosecutors said in their latest statement that there wasn’t enough evidence to confirm his shot caused Galvan’s death.
The statement said Galvan’s family was consulted and that they understood the legal challenges.
“The greatest justice would be having Lisa back, but since that is not possible, accountability still matters,” the family said in a statement released through the prosecutor’s office. “We also share the hope expressed in court that change can come from this and that people recognize the importance of making better choices.”
Mays, meanwhile, is scheduled to stand trial next year on charges that include second-degree murder. The 15-year-old involved was sentenced previously to a state facility for youths.
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