Man charged in Chiefs parade shooting, also accused in teen's 2021 killing
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A man accused in a teen's death in 2021 is now charged in connection to the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally shooting last month.
"I pleaded that he wouldn't go and that he would just stay with me,” Rashira Lewis, the mom of that 16-year-old victim said, recounting the moments, praying her son would pull through.
Terry Young, 20, faces a total of four felony charges. He's being held on a $1 million bond. But back in 2021 prosecutors declined to charge him in relation to the teen's death.
Lewis said she could barely sleep, and she was scared to leave home knowing that at any point any time she could run into Terry Young, and she and her son were failed by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Lewis believes if he was prosecuted, then maybe some of what happened on February 14 might have been prevented.
She said Derrez Green was a joyful kid and a star. On the football field and on the track and could dance.
"He lit up every room he walked in, a breath of fresh air, he was funny, he danced, he laughed, he joked. He was just really, really an amazing kid," Lewis said.
But all of that was ripped away in a flash. On October 9 of 2021, Green was sitting in the passenger seat of a car with two others, leaving a gas station headed right across the street to McDonalds when a shot was fired.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever been faced with. Because I battled with am I doing the right thing? Is he really dead? Could he still live? So that was hard because I didn't know," Lewis said.
The 16-year-old had been shot in the head by a bullet that came from the back seat.
The driver drove to Research Medical Center where doctors said the wound was too bad and they couldn't perform surgery.
The next day Lewis took her son off of life support.
The person in possession of that gun when it went off was Terry Young, who is now charged with four felonies, including second-degree murder, for his alleged part in the shooting following the Chiefs Super Bowl rally.
He told officers that the slide on the 9-millimeter did not return on the gun and he forced it forward and it went off.
After Green told him to not to point the gun at him, but to point it at the floor. The driver concurred that the bullet that killed Green was fired accidentally from his cousin Terry Young's gun
There was also video evidence of Young waving the gun around.
The lead detective presented the case to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in regard to charges against Young for first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors declined to charge, sighting "functionality issues with the gun."
"Having to hear someone tell you they are not going to charge someone that murdered your son because they can't be for sure how the gun went off. I don't think that makes sense. I know that don't make sense and I'm sure that everybody that's watching can agree that don't make sense," Lewis said.
FOX4 asked the prosecutor’s office about their decision. They said through test by police it was determined the gun wasn't working properly and if there was a conviction it likely would have led to probation.
"I want you to know you have caused so much pain in my life and it hurts so bad, and you did nothing to change yourself after killing your cousin. You failed Derrez, your parents failed you and the justice system failed me, and I hope you spend the rest of your life in jail," Lewis said.
The prosecutor’s office adamantly defended their stance saying: "It is unfair to suggest that anything related to the manslaughter case would have impacted what happened at Union Station.”
Lewis said she finally feels comfortable leaving home once again. Young is due back in court April 1 for a bond review hearing.