First sentence handed down in teen’s 2023 death
By Chris Fortune
A judge sentenced the first of three teens in connection with the death of a 15-year-old boy.
Circuit Court Judge Patrick Robb sentenced 17-year-old Kaden Wilfong to 30 years in prison on Wednesday afternoon. He admitted to being involved in the shooting of Carter P. Smith and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 13. Wilfong will be transported to the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Smith was found in the early morning hours of June 15, 2023, near 28th and Commercial streets.
Several people were captured on video arriving to the area and leaving on foot after the shooting. A witness came forward and identified several people involved in the shooting, according to a probable cause statement.
According to court documents, following Smith’s death, police went to Wilfong’s home a few blocks away from the shooting and watched the house. After obtaining a search warrant, police located several guns believed to have been used in the shooting, along with bloody clothing and a bloody bag that had been described by family members as belonging to Smith, a probable cause statement said.
Teontre Kirby pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting of Smith on May 17. Kirby is scheduled to appear before Robb on Oct. 24 at 10:30 a.m. He is being held without bond and faces 10 to 30 years or life in prison.
A third teen, Jackson Lee Griffith, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case on Friday. Griffith is scheduled to appear before Robb for a sentencing hearing on Oct. 21 at 1:30 p.m. and is also being held without bond while facing 10 to 30 years or life in prison.
