KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 26-year-old man was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in a shooting death of at a motel.
Steven T. Decker of Independence, MIssouri, was also charged with two counts of armed criminal action and two counts of robbery after the shooting early Monday at the Executive Inn and Suites.
According to court records, early Monday police officers were dispatched to the motel in Independence and found the victim, Tomas Galvan, in apparent blood behind the door to a room.
A witness told police that the victim had called two men to come give him a ride. At some point, the men pulled guns and one shot the victim in the head. Before they fled, they grabbed the victim's property, including his phone. Surveillance video from the hotel showed them leaving in a vehicle that belonged to the defendant, according to the Jackson County Attorney's office.
School staff at the defendant's school told police Decker appeared to be crying when he picked up his son the same day and he stated he was going to prison for 25 years. When a detective contacted the defendant he sounded upset and said he never meant for this to happen.
Decker was arrested at his home Monday afternoon.