Jury delivers guilty verdict in killing of Jefferson City corrections officer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Cole County jury has convicted a man of second-degree murder, assault and other charges in connection with the shooting death of 33-year-old corrections officer Justin Kammerich.

The jury began deliberation last week in the trial of Jahuan Whirley and convicted him Monday on eight felony counts including second-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree attempted robbery and armed criminal action.

Monday afternoon, the sentencing phase of the trial began with the state presenting five witnesses, asking the jury for life behind bars.

Kammerich's brother took the stand stating, Whirley fired 13 shots that night to finish the job with no witnesses but luckily Alex Myers who was shot three times survived.

He told the jury is he begging them for the maximum life sentence to ensure Whirley can't do this to another family because his family has been changed for forever.

Kammerich's brother told the jury that he now has to speak about his brother in past tense words because Whirley wanted to quote "stuff" from him.

The prosecution also called Jefferson City Police Department Detective Jason Ambler.

Ambler says Jefferson City's rising crime rate has caused greater turnover within the department. He testified that law enforcement sees more crimes using larger extended magazines in guns compared to ten years ago.

He says that larger magazines result in more ammo leading to more victims. During the trial the state presented the murder weapon, being a nine-millimeter Glock with an extended magazine.

All three of Kammerich's children made statements Monday during the sentencing phase of the trial, referring to Whirley as the bad guy.

Kammerich's children told the jury how much they miss their dad and doing things with him. They also said that their father's death makes it hard to sleep and night and gives them nightmares.

The defense says they will bring friends, family and a psychologist to the jury for its part of the sentencing. They plan to give more information about who Whirley is. Describing Whirley to the jury as someone who is a joker, kind, polite and helpful.

During the start of the sentencing phase of the trial, the defense also told the jury that Whirley is someone who can be rehabilitated and that he doesn't need to die in prison.

Throughout the trial, the defense reminded the jury that Whirley was 16-years-old at the time of the shooting.

Kammerich's brother told the jury that at 16-years-old you know the consequences of taking a life and taking a human life is the worst thing that you can do.

Tuesday the defense is expected to present their witnesses for the sentencing phase of the trial starting at 9:00 a.m at the Cole County Courthouse.

Whirley was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, first-degree attempted robbery and armed criminal action. He was 16 years old at the time of the incident and was charged as an adult.

He's accused of robbing and shooting 33-year-old corrections officer Justin Kammerich and 20-year-old Alex Myers along West Atchison Street in Jefferson City in December 2018. Kammerich was killed and Myers survived after being shot three times.

After the incident, Myers told police that he and Kammerich were outside when a person with a gun told them to hand over their money, wallets and phones. Myers said before they handed over the items, the person shot them.

According to a probable cause statement, police later matched a gun found in Whirley's home with the gun used at the crime scene.

During the trial, the state presented evidence that shows the gun in question was missing 13 bullets and said that's how many shots were fired at the scene.

Police also found a ski mask and clothing matching the description of the shooter at Whirley's house with DNA and gun residue evidence on it.

In court, Whirley's defense claimed DNA evidence is highly transferable and the gunshot residue found could have been from a previous incident unrelated to the shooting and robbery. The defense said Whirley went to a shooting range and shot an AR-15 with his brother a week before the Dec. 12 shooting.