UPDATE, July 15, 2024 | Uconn Xavier Coleman was sentenced on Friday, July 12, 2024, to serve 25 years in prison.
Judge Christina Dunn sentenced him to 250 months for second-degree murder, nine months for aggravated battery, seven months for fleeing and eluding and 34 months for leaving the scene of a crash.
The 300 months (25 years) are to be served consecutively.
ORIGINAL STORY | A Grain Valley man is charged with murder and several other crimes after a crash that killed a man Thursday morning in Merriam.
Uconn Coleman, 24, is accused of DUI aggravated battery, first-degree murder or in the alternative, second-degree murder, fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer, driving while suspended and transporting an open container, according to Johnson County records.
The crash happened about 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning at Antioch Road and Shawnee Mission Parkway, according to the Merriam Police Department.
According to the department, an officer spotted Coleman in a black Ford Fusion speeding south in the 5500 block of Antioch Road. The officer tried to stop Coleman's car, but did not pursue the car because of the dangerously high speeds.
Coleman's car would slam into a Honda Accord driven by 19-year-old Benjamin Klecza, who would die from injuries sustained in the crash.
A female passenger in the Honda Accord and Coleman only suffered minor injuries from the crash, according to police.
Coleman is currently being held in the Johnson County Adult Detention Center. A judge has set his bond at $500,000.
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