KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A man will be held behind bars for the rest of his life without the possibility for parole or probation after a judge’s sentence was handed down Thursday. Derrick Bluett received that sentence for the 2009 murder of Maurice West according to a news release from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office.
Bluett also received 20 years for armed criminal action that is set to run consecutive to the first-degree murder conviction. West was found shot to death at 116th and Holiday drive. Detectives used surveillance camera images to locate a key witness, who said that he and Bluett were looking for some people that had been involved in a fight with relatives.
When the pair came across West’s path, Bluett pulled a handgun and shot him according to witnesses. Bluett had been serving a five-year sentence for separate burglary and tampering convictions
