The sentencing came after prosecutors revisited the evidence and legal hurdles tied to Missouri’s self-defense rules in the melee that erupted as the Chiefs celebration drew an estimated 1 million fans and ended near Kansas City’s historic Union Station. The AP reported that prosecutors sentenced Dominic Miller to two years in prison in a case they described as complicated by the state’s stand-your-ground framework.
In a written statement, the Jackson County prosecutor’s office said the murder charge that Miller initially faced was dropped and that the remaining case turned on whether prosecutors could disprove justification under Missouri law beyond a reasonable doubt. The office said the state needed to prove the charged defendant was the initial aggressor or did not act in lawful self-defense or defense of others.
Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a radio show host, was killed while watching the rally with her family, according to court records described by the AP. Prosecutors said about two dozen other people, “many of them children,” were wounded but survived.
The prosecutor’s office also addressed the prosecution’s key evidentiary dispute: it said there was not enough evidence to confirm that Miller’s shot caused Lopez-Galvan’s death. Earlier statements by authorities had said ballistics linked the bullet that killed Galvan to a handgun Miller admitted firing, but prosecutors later said the proof was insufficient.
Miller had pleaded guilty to a weapons charge as part of a plea deal, the AP reported, and was among at least six people who began shooting during the chaos, court records show. Prosecutors said the gunfire erupted as the celebration concluded and that the guns found at the scene included at least two AR-style rifles, according to court records.
The prosecution said the initial spark came when one group confronted another for staring at them, and it accused Lyndell Mays of being the first person to start firing. Prosecutors said that after Mays began shooting, a 15-year-old started firing toward Mays and hit Miller, who also admitted firing several shots.
Miller spent more than two years in custody, including months hospitalized in critical condition, his attorney David Wiegert said in a written statement. Wiegert said the earlier murder charge change reflected the case’s legal complexity, and he added, “While we are very pleased to see his freedom restored, we remain concerned that he was charged with murder in the first place.”
Wiegert, expressing “deepest condolences” to Lopez-Galvan’s family, said a person who unintentionally strikes a third party while attempting to lawfully defend oneself or another is immune from criminal liability under state law. Prosecutors said Lopez-Galvan’s family was consulted and understood the legal challenges.
Lopez-Galvan’s family, speaking through a statement released through the prosecutor’s office, said, “The greatest justice would be having Lisa back, but since that is not possible, accountability still matters,” and it said it shared the hope expressed in court that change could come from the case. Mays, according to the AP, was scheduled to stand trial next year on charges that include second-degree murder, and the 15-year-old involved was sentenced previously to a state facility for youths.