KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two men are now charged with the killing a 16-year-old boy in 2017 outside of a Blue Springs house.
Javonte Tiger and Taron Thompson, both 21 and from Independence, have been charged in Jackson County with second-degree murder, two counts each of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
The victim, 16-year-old Colby Stephenson, of Blue Springs, was found shot to death Dec. 18, 2017, in the front yard of a Blue Springs house.
The murder crushed Stephenson's family and friends.
"Colby didn't deserved to die this way,'' his mother, Michelle Stephenson, told 41 Action News reporter Andres Gutierrez at a vigil for the slain teen shortly after his death.
Stephenson and several friends left the house and were walking to a nearby car when the gunfire started.
A bullet hit Stephenson in the head and he died in the front yard of the house.
"I'm in disbelief for a 16-year-old kid that did absolutely nothing, who has never been in any trouble,'' family friend Lori Grove said at the 2017 vigil.
Police found more than three dozen shell casings at the murder scene.
Tiger is in a Missouri prison serving time for burglary, assault, receiving stolen property and unlawful use of a weapon.
No court dates have been set for the pair.
