PLATTE CITY, MO (AP) — Jurors convicted a Kansas man of murder for shooting an unarmed man in the back at a home in Missouri, prosecutors said.
The Platte County prosecutor's office said in a news release Thursday that Coty Borst, 28, of Shawnee, Kansas, was found guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action following a three-day trial.
The charges stem from an altercation on June 21, 2018, at a Houston Lake home during which Borst fired into the back of Jacob Stowers. He fled and was found in a creek bed 100 yards from the house following a manhunt.
“This senseless murder took the life of a young man in the prime of his life,” Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd said in a statement. “There is no justification for murder when an unarmed person is ambushed.”
Borst testified at his trial to the shooting, but claimed he believed the victim intended to get a gun. He told jurors he hid behind a corner in the house before walking into a living room and firing at Stowers. He claimed he acted in self-defense.
Sentencing is set for April 23.