Kansas City teen charged in Chiefs parade shooting to be placed on house arrest | KCUR

A 16-year-old Kansas City boy charged in the Super Bowl parade shootings was ordered under home confinement by a Jackson County judge Thursday. Family Court Administrative Judge Jennifer Phillips said the teen, known as “AM” in court documents, must wear electronic monitoring, be subject to drug testing, not have access to firearms and receive family counseling and mental health treatment.

On Wednesday, Phillips ruled in a sealed motion that AM would not be tried as an adult. The first he knew about it was Thursday, when he arrived at court wearing baggy beige pants and a gray sweatshirt, still handcuffed and shackled at his feet.

When his lawyer, Yash Manjunath, leaned over to whisper the news of the judge's decision the day before, the boy beamed, jumped in his chair and hugged his lawyer.

After his decision, Phillips took off his glasses and looked directly at the teen, who was sitting at a table with his mother. She told him that if he violated the terms of her decision, he would be placed in secure detention again until his sentencing on August 15, when his fate would be determined.

“Whether you have the right to stay home depends entirely on your choices,” Phillips said.

AM was one of two juveniles charged with unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest in the Feb. 14 shooting at Union Station. He is accused of shooting Lyndell Mays, 23, who faces four counts, including second-degree murder. Two other adults are also charged and all are being held on $1 million bail.

Witnesses told police that two groups of boys and young men started the fight “by arguing about why they were looking at each other.”

Manjunath said the teen needed to be released so he could receive therapy for his “unspecified trauma,” which a doctor said could develop into full-blown PTSD. Manjunath was pleased with Phillip's decision to keep the teen in juvenile court.

“She recognized that he could be treated and that he could still be helped by the juvenile justice system. There is a credible allegation of self-defense,” Manjunath said.

AM's mother and other family members cried and hugged each other after the sentencing, saying they were relieved and happy that he was returning home.

“My baby deserves to come home so he can show them what kind of child he is,” AM’s mother said. “But I’m still going to kick his ass.”