Kansas City man sentenced to life in federal prison for GPS tracker killing
A Kansas City man was sentenced to life in federal prison for tracking down and killing a rival marijuana dealer who was fatally shot while shielding his then-8-year-old daughter from a barrage of gunfire in 2018, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Lester E. Brown, 36, was given the life sentence plus 15 years by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays for convictions stemming from the shooting death of 30-year-old Christopher Harris. It comes five months after the close of a jury trial where Brown was found guilty of three felonies, including cyberstalking resulting in death.
Prosecutors say Brown and two other conspirators put GPS trackers on Harris’ vehicle and surveilled him while sending threatening messages. There was a longstanding feud between them, according to prosecutors, that included the 2013 kidnapping and killing of Ryan Cobbins, 25, described as a close friend and business partner of Harris in high-potency and high-level marijuana distribution.
In 2013, Cobbins was reported missing after an appointment at a barber shop. He was found dead months later, bound by his hands and feet and shot in the head, when a city code inspector visited a vacant home in Kansas City.
Harris at one point paid Brown a $20,000 ransom to free Cobbins, according to prosecutors. Brown allegedly continued to threaten Harris and, at the time Harris was killed, was demanding Harris pay $10,000 per month or “end up like Ryan (Cobbins).”
On March 14, 2018, Harris picked his daughter up from a dance class at a Raytown studio and drove her to her mother’s Independence home. Brown allegedly followed them there — with Michael Young, 32, Ronell Pearson, 36, as passengers — and blocked them in the driveway.
After exiting his vehicle, prosecutors said, Brown fired a volley of bullets into Harris’ car while Harris yelled that his young daughter was inside. Harris was shot in the head while getting his daughter to safety, according to prosecutors.
After Harris fell, and the girl escaped without injury, Brown allegedly stood over Harris and shot him twice more in the face.
Investigators discovered the GPS device underneath Harris’ car after he was killed. It led them to the manufacturer in New York and an account registered to the username “LesterBROWN87.” Brown was born in 1987.
A witness who knew Harris told police that Harris and Brown had a confrontation a few weeks before the homicide.
Brown was first charged and arrested in March 2018. He was among three ultimately convicted.
Earlier this year, Young and Pearson pleaded guilty to conspiracy counts for their alleged involvement. Young was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Pearson was sentenced to five years.
