KC Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Botched Robbery at Grandview Auto Dealer
Robbery Attempt Ended in Firefight With Owner, Shooting of Employee
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for the botched robbery of a Grandview, Mo., auto dealership that ended when he shot an employee while fleeing, after a shootout with the owner, who was also armed.
Lyndale E. Watson, also known as “Red, “Blood,” and “Stoni Blud,” 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 18 years and one month in federal prison without parole. The court granted the government’s motion to impose a sentence above the federal sentencing guidelines due to the violent and abhorrent nature of this crime.
On July 14, 2021, Watson pleaded guilty to one count of attempted robbery and one count of carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
Watson wore a scarf over his face when he walked into Pride Auto Sales, a car lot at 12800 S. US 78 Highway in Grandview, on Feb. 19, 2015. Watson asked an employee, identified in court documents as “M.M.,” about a car for sale. After the owner came to the front of the business, Watson pulled out a firearm, pointed the gun at the owner, and said, “Don’t move.”
The owner, already armed with a firearm, ran back to his office as Watson shot at him. The two engaged in a firefight. As Watson ran out of the business, he shot M.M. in the back as M.M. was trying to escape himself. M.M. was seriously wounded and nearly died, but survived the shooting.
On Feb. 27, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Wallace’s residence and found a Hi-Point 9mm rifle, a plastic bag that contained 98 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and a .380-caliber Winchester round that matched the shell casings recovered from the auto dealership.
Watson said he carried out the attempted robbery at the behest of a friend formerly employed at Pride Auto Sales, who claimed to be owed money by the owner of the car lot. According to court documents, Watson was on probation in four different cases at the time he committed this crime. His criminal history includes felony drug possession, eluding police, assault, felony domestic assault, stealing a motor vehicle, and numerous instances of resisting arrest.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the Grandview, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
