Grandview 16-year-old charged with murder after failed gun exchange in Raytown
A Grandview teen has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting another teen in Raytown in April while allegedly exchanging guns outside a duplex.
Alvphonz K. Spotwood, 16, was charged on Wednesday with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting 18-year-old Raymond Rucker III on April 7. Spotwood was also charged with robbery and two counts of armed criminal action, all felonies, according to Jackson County court records.
A Jackson County judge ruled Wednesday that Spotwood will be tried as an adult.
Officers responded to reports of shots fired around 5:10 p.m. on April 7 in the 9000 block of East 85th Place in Raytown, The Star previously reported. An hour later, Rucker’s girlfriend drove him to St. Luke’s East Hospital, where police were called when he presented with two gunshot wounds according to court documents.
Members of Rucker’s family also accompanied him to St. Luke’s, where a Kansas City police officer allegedly overheard them discussing how Rucker was shot while doing an “exchange,” court documents read.
Rucker was transported to the Kansas City branch of St. Luke’s, where he died. Officers believe he was shot outside the home on East 85th Place, where Raytown police found shell casings and blood splatter consistent with Rucker’s injuries, according to court documents.
Rucker’s girlfriend, who witnessed the shooting, told police that he had met Spotwood to exchange his own handgun for an automatic weapon similar to an AK-47. Another witness also alleged that she had previously accompanied Rucker to buy marijuana from Spotwood, according to court documents.
The witness alleges that Spotwood hesitated in offering his own gun during the exchange, court documents show, causing Rucker to back away from the trade, after which Spotwood shot him with the weapon he had hoped to swap.
Spotwood shot Rucker twice with the AK-47 variant, according to court documents. The altercation was captured on video. Additional videos of Spotwood with the guns involved in the shooting, along with social media messages and identification of the cars Rucker and Spotwood drove to the alleged exchange, led to Spotwood’s arrest.
The fact that the shooting was captured on video, and that it took place on a residential street in broad daylight, factored into the decision to charge Spotwood as an adult, according to court documents.
At the time of his death, Rucker was a student at Manual Career & Technical School, an alternative high school program in the Kansas City Public School District. He also worked as a filler at an Amazon fulfillment center.
Rucker had six siblings and was extremely close to his family, according to an obituary shared online. He loved music and enjoyed watching movies with his mother.
“[Raymond] was full of life, goofy and a very fun person,” his obituary read. “He loved his family. You couldn’t catch him without his matching belt and shoes and a fresh retwist and hairline … he was small but he did everything big.”
According to court documents, Spotwood had previously been charged in Cass County juvenile court for robbery, among other things. He also did a stint at Riverbend Treatment Center, an alternative school in St. Joseph considered to be the highest level of treatment in the Missouri juvenile justice system.
While at Riverbend, Spotwood had a history of getting into physical fights, according to court records. At the time of the shooting, he attended Grandview High School.
Spotwood is scheduled to next appear in court on July 31 for a bond hearing.
Rucker’s death was the first homicide reported in Raytown this year, according to data collected by The Star.
