A former Kansas City police officer has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a 71-year-old man during a confrontation outside a Walmart in Kansas City, Missouri.
Taquiza Johnson, 49, was sentenced Monday in Platte County for the second-degree murder of Ronald Barnett. The judge also imposed an additional 15-year sentence for armed criminal action, with that term to be served consecutively.
The sentence follows Johnson’s June 2026 conviction, when a Platte County jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action after a five-day trial.
The shooting happened on Aug. 21, 2024, in the parking lot of the Walmart on North Boardwalk Avenue. What began as a brief confrontation between two strangers ended with Barnett being shot and later dying at a nearby hospital.
A confrontation that unfolded in minutes
According to evidence presented in court, Johnson was leaving Walmart when he crossed paths with Barnett, who was driving through the parking lot.
Surveillance video showed the two men interacting after Johnson moved toward Barnett’s vehicle. The first encounter lasted only a short time, and both men eventually returned to their vehicles.
Barnett then parked in an accessible parking space and began walking toward the Walmart entrance.
Johnson, however, drove in Barnett’s direction.
Prosecutors said Johnson got out of his vehicle with a firearm concealed behind his back and approached Barnett again. The two men exchanged words before Johnson shot Barnett once in the abdomen.
The entire sequence happened in less than two minutes.
Barnett was treated by emergency responders and taken to North Kansas City Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Johnson left the parking lot after the shooting. Authorities located his vehicle at a nearby apartment complex within minutes and arrested him after he had changed clothes.
Johnson argued self-defense
During the trial, Johnson testified that he believed he was defending himself.
His defense centered on the earlier confrontation and claims that Barnett had threatened him. Johnson acknowledged during cross-examination, however, that Barnett was not armed and that he had not seen him holding a weapon.
The jury ultimately rejected the self-defense argument and convicted Johnson on both charges.
Johnson had previously served with the Kansas City Police Department from 2004 until 2014. He was no longer a police officer when Barnett was killed.
Jury recommendation followed by final sentence
After finding Johnson guilty in June, jurors recommended life imprisonment for the murder conviction along with 15 years for armed criminal action.
Judge Myles Perry later imposed those sentences.
The case brought an end to a legal proceeding that began with the August 2024 shooting and continued through Johnson’s trial and sentencing.
For Barnett’s family, the case has centered on the loss of a 71-year-old man whose life ended after a confrontation in an ordinary shopping-center parking lot.
The shooting also left a
