KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two men are accused of shooting a teen in Kansas City, Missouri, on his birthday because they believed he was in a gang that rivaled MS-13.
Alexis Menjivar and Kennedy Lopez-Maderos allegedly shot Johan Sarmiento-Peralta last Thursday. Peralta later died on Saturday.
According to court documents, Peralta was watching a soccer game with two witnesses near east 10th Street and Van Brunt Boulevard.
A witness who was with Peralta said she parked behind a Black pick-up truck and the three began watching the game.
During this time, Menjivar and Lopez-Maderos approached Peralta who was wearing a shirt with an "8" on it and asked them if he knew anyone in a gang.
Menjivar and Lopez-Maderos said they were asking because the number "8" represented a rival 18th Street gang.
The pair told Peralta that they were members of the MS-13 gang.
They then proceeded to tell Peralta to remove his shirt, who refused.
Menjivar and Lopez-Maderos returned to their truck and began making phone calls, before leaving.
The pair returned about 10 minutes later followed by a Honda and another vehicle.
They were accompanied by 12 other people and continued pressuring Peralta to remove his shirt.
During the confrontation, Lopez-Maderos punched Peralta. Menjivar then allegedly handed him a black hand gun and he shot Peralta in the head.
The two witnesses then took Peralta back to his home.
On the day Peralta died, the witnesses contacted the investigators and said they received information that the Menjivar and Lopez-Maderos fled to Kansas City, Kansas.
The witnesses also told detectives that the Lopez-Maderos and Menjivar were were planning to kill them.
Investigators reviewed surveillance video which corroborated the witnesses accounts.
Lopez-Maderos and Menjivar are both charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.
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