KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after a deadly motorcycle crash in 2023.
27-year-old Melvin T. Brown pleaded guilty and received 10 years each for two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter, four years for resisting arrest, three years for leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and three years for tampering with a motor vehicle.
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According to the probable cause statement, an Independence Police Officer tried to stop a suspected stolen Jeep the night of the incident.
Brown didn’t stop for police and drove the Jeep at speeds up to 90 mph, trying to evade the police.
He then hit a motorcycle at Scott Avenue and Winner Road, killing victims Jake Jackson Monteer and Jessica Marie Fields.
Court documents said Brown of drove away from the crash and at one point, started driving the wrong way on I-70 as police pursued him.
An officer stopped the Jeep near 42nd Street and Lee’s Summit Road. Brown lost control of the Jeep.