Coty Borst, 28, of Shawnee is sentenced
A Shawnee, Kansas man who murdered an unarmed man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Coty Borst, 28, received the sentence in Platte County Circuit Court on July 14 after a Platte County jury convicted him on March 11 of the 2018 murder of Jacob Stowers.
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said, “This was a senseless murder of a defenseless man. The defendant shot an unarmed man merely as the result of an argument.”
On June 21, 2018, police officers responded to a 911 call of a shooting at a Houston Lake residence. Stowers was found bleeding from a gunshot wound to his back and later died at North Kansas City Hospital.
A witness described how Borst pulled a gun and shot Stowers before fleeing. Borst was later apprehended, hiding in a creek.
Borst testified in his own defense at trial. He admitted to shooting Stowers after an argument.
Borst testified he hid behind a corner in the house as he decided to shoot Stowers. He then walked into a living room and fired at Stowers, hitting him in the back.
Borst claimed he acted in self-defense because he believed Stowers intended to get a gun. However, Borst admitted that he never saw Stowers with a gun. In addition, evidence presented at trial showed that there was only a single shot fired, no other weapons were present, and the victim did not threaten Borst.
The victim’s mother and father spoke during the sentencing hearing. Both parents expressed their sense of loss and heartbreak at never seeing their son, Jacob, again.
Zahnd said, “As a result of this defendant’s actions, Jacob’s parents will live the rest of their lives with pain that no parent deserves to endure-the murder of a child. It’s only right that this defendant will serve decades in prison.”
Judge James Van Amburg sentenced Borst to 30 years in prison for murder in the second degree and 15 years for armed criminal action. Van Amburg ordered the sentences to run consecutively, for a total of 45 years.
Borst must serve 25 1/2 years of the murder sentence and three years of the armed criminal action sentence-a total of 28 1/2 years-before he will be eligible for parole.
The case was investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas City Police Department, the Riverside Police Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. It was prosecuted by assistant prosecuting attorneys Blake Sherer and Kaitlynn Donnelly.