KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As it did in supporting Eric DeValkenaere’s appeal in hopes of overturning a double-felony conviction for shooting and killing Cameron Lamb, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed a brief Wednesday in support of a rehearing motion and possible transfer to the Missouri Supreme Court.
TIMELINE | Shooting of Lamb, conviction of ex-KCPD officer DeValkenaere
It's the second time in four months Andrew Bailey's office has sided with the convicted ex-Kansas City, Missouri, police detective in a court filing.
Assistant Attorney General Shaun Mackelprang filed the 12-page Motion for Rehearing and Application for Transfer to the Supreme Court of Missouri one day after DeValkenaere’s attorneys filed a similar motion and application for transfer.
Mackelprang rehashed some of the arguments made at trial and during the Sept. 5 appeals hearing, arguing that “the Court overlooked material matters of fact and law” in asking for the appeals court to rehear the case “or, alternatively, that the Court transfer this case to the Supreme Court of Missouri.”
DeValkenaere, who worked for KCPD for more than two decades beginning in 1999, shot and killed Lamb on Dec. 3, 2019, during an encounter in the backyard of Lamb’s residence in the 4100 block of College Avenue.
A grand jury indicted DeValkenaere on two counts in June 2020 and he was convicted of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action after a four-day bench trial in November 2021.
The trial judge, Jackson County Circuit Court Presiding Judge J. Dale Youngs, found DeValkenaere guilty and sentenced him to six years in prison in March 2022.
Youngs ruled that DeValkenaere and his partner, who also was in the backyard during the deadly encounter, violated the constitution in entering the property without a warrant, permission or probable cause.
DeValkenaere’s attorneys appealed in October 2022 and, after delaying its response six times, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed a motion in June 2023 that supported overturning the conviction.
The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Office’s sought leave with the Missouri Court of Appeals for Western Missouri to intercede and defend its conviction, which the court granted.
A three-judge appeals court panel affirmed DeValkenaere’s conviction on Oct. 17.
DeValkenaere, who had been allowed to remain free with the appeal pending, surrendered to Platte County sheriff’s deputies later that day after the appeals court revoked his bond and issued an arrest warrant.
He was transferred Oct. 25 to the Missouri Department of Corrections, where he was processed at the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph to begin his prison sentence.
DeValkenaere's attorneys forwarded information to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson's office after the appeal decision, seeking a pardon.
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