Jurors recommended life in prison after rejecting Taquiza Johnson’s account of the deadly parking-lot confrontation.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A former Kansas City police officer faces a possible life sentence after a Platte County jury convicted him of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a 71-year-old man following a brief confrontation outside a Walmart.

Taquiza Johnson, 49, was also found guilty of armed criminal action in the Aug. 21, 2024, killing of Ronald Barnett. Jurors recommended life imprisonment for the murder conviction and an additional 15 years for the weapons offense. Missouri law requires a sentence for armed criminal action to run after the sentence for the underlying felony, according to the Platte County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Circuit Judge Myles Perry is scheduled to sentence Johnson on Sept. 14.

The verdict followed a five-day trial focused on surveillance video, Johnson’s actions after an initial argument and his claim that he feared Barnett would attack him. Prosecutors said the encounter began when Johnson believed Barnett’s vehicle had come too close while Johnson was walking through a marked crosswalk outside the store at 8551 N. Boardwalk Ave. What might have ended as a short exchange instead resumed after the men separated and returned to their vehicles.

Walmart surveillance video showed Barnett stop, reverse and get out of his vehicle after Johnson extended an arm toward it, according to reports describing the evidence and charging documents. The men spoke for about 20 seconds before walking away from each other. Barnett then moved his sport utility vehicle to a designated accessible parking space and began walking toward the entrance. Johnson entered his own vehicle and drove in Barnett’s direction rather than leaving the property.

Prosecutors said Johnson parked directly behind Barnett’s SUV, stepped out with a handgun concealed behind his back and approached Barnett in a driving lane. The two men exchanged more words before Johnson fired once, striking Barnett in the abdomen. Barnett fell to the pavement as Johnson returned to his vehicle and drove away. The chain of events, from the first encounter to the shooting, unfolded in less than two minutes, according to charging documents summarized in news reports.

Police officers were dispatched to the store shortly after 4:15 p.m. and found Barnett seriously wounded in the parking lot. Emergency workers took him to North Kansas City Hospital, where he died. Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers located Johnson’s vehicle within about 10 minutes at a nearby apartment complex. Authorities said Johnson had changed his clothing before his arrest, although the jury’s verdict rested on the full record presented during the trial rather than any single piece of evidence.

Johnson testified that Barnett threatened his life during the first exchange and directed racial epithets at him. Johnson argued that he acted to protect himself when the confrontation resumed. During cross-examination, however, he acknowledged that Barnett was not armed and that he had not seen a gun, knife or other weapon in Barnett’s hands. Prosecutors relied on that testimony and the surveillance recording to argue that the legal requirements for deadly self-defense had not been met.

Perry declined to instruct jurors that they could acquit Johnson on a theory of self-defense. Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said Missouri law does not justify deadly force based only on insults, verbal threats or fear of being grabbed or punched. Zahnd said a person seeking a deadly-force instruction must present evidence of a threat involving force capable of causing death or serious injury. The judge’s ruling meant jurors evaluated the charged offenses without a self-defense instruction on the verdict form.

The prosecution also emphasized Johnson’s decision to return to Barnett after the men had broken off their first argument. Video evidence showed that each man had gone back to his vehicle, creating a pause in the encounter. Barnett parked and headed toward the store, while Johnson drove behind Barnett’s vehicle and approached him while carrying the gun. Prosecutors argued that the sequence showed Johnson had an opportunity to leave but instead chose to renew the confrontation while armed.

Johnson’s previous career made the case especially notable in the Kansas City area. He served with the Kansas City Police Department for about a decade, from late 2003 or 2004 until February 2014, according to local reports and the prosecutor’s office. He was not a police officer at the time of Barnett’s death. Prosecutors said the handgun used in the shooting had once been Johnson’s duty weapon, a fact Zahnd highlighted while announcing the conviction.

The jury chose second-degree murder rather than the most severe form of homicide discussed during the case. Under Missouri law, second-degree murder can apply when a person knowingly causes another person’s death or causes a death while intending to inflict serious physical injury. The armed criminal action conviction reflects the use of a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon in carrying out the felony. The precise punishment remains for Perry to impose at the sentencing hearing.

Jurors’ sentencing recommendations carry substantial practical importance but do not replace the judge’s formal order. The jury recommended the maximum term presented for the second-degree murder count and 15 years for armed criminal action. Because the weapons sentence must be consecutive, Johnson could remain imprisoned well beyond the life term’s minimum parole considerations if Perry follows both recommendations. The court may consider the trial evidence, sentencing arguments and any statements submitted by Barnett’s relatives before announcing the final terms.

Barnett, an Excelsior Springs resident and retired truck driver, was remembered in his obituary as the center of a large family. He was survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and five siblings. His family told The Kansas City Star that the life recommendation brought some relief, although relatives remained troubled by the speed with which a routine arrival at a store became fatal and by questions they said arose about the emergency response after the shooting.

The conviction closes the trial stage but not the case. Johnson remains in custody awaiting sentencing, and the court has not yet issued the final prison terms. Any post-trial motions or appeal would follow separate legal procedures after judgment is entered. For Barnett’s family, the Sept. 14 hearing will determine whether the judge adopts the jury’s recommendation for life imprisonment and the additional consecutive sentence.

Author note: Last updated July 28, 2026.