Kansas City man gets 30 years in federal prison in deadly GPS-tracking ambush case
By Nick Sloan
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — A Kansas City man will spend decades in federal prison after admitting he helped tracked down a vehicle with a GPS device before a deadly shooting outside a grocery store.
Michael Smith, 39, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for cyberstalking resulting in death, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri said in a news release on Tuesday.
Federal court documents say it was part of a murder-for-hire plot that began in early 2019.
Court records state that Smith and co-defendant Dontay Campbell placed a GPS tracker underneath the victim’s red Chevy Tahoe on March 5, 2019, allowing them to monitor the movements around the region.
Smith used the tracker multiple times to locate the victim before the killing.
On March 16, 2019, Smith followed the victim to a Kansas City grocery store. As the victim returned to the Tahoe, Campbell and another co-conspirator pulled up in a Chrysler Sebring.
Authorities said the gunman jumped out and fired a Ruger .40-calier handgun.
The shooters than circled back through the parking lot and fired additional shots into the SUV before fleeing the scene.
Campbell also attempted to remove the GPS tracker from the victim’s vehicle, but was unable to do so.
Smith later admitted he was paid cash for helping carry out the killing. Campbell has also pleaded guilty and is still awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City Police Department.
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