Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting cousin inside Independence restaurant
By ZOE BROWN
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JACKSON COUNTY, Missouri (KCTV, KSMO) — A Lee’s Summit man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting a woman inside an Independence restaurant in 2019.
According to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, Porntrep Phonjaroen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action in May.
Today, a judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison for the murder conviction and to 10 years for the armed criminal action. The sentences were set to run concurrently.
According to court records, Phonjaroen fatally shot his cousin on Nov. 16, 2019 while working at a Thai restaurant located on E. Valley View Parkway.
When police arrived, they found the victim on the kitchen floor.
A customer told police that a man inside the business had shot her. That man was taken into custody and later identified as Phonjaroen.
Police did recover a shell casing near the victim and a handgun was found in the woods behind the business.
Phonjaroen, speaking through an interpreter, admitted to shooting the victim. The shooting was also captured on surveillance video.
Phonjaroen later told the police that the victim was his cousin and he was “upset with her work habits,” according to the release from the prosecutor’s office.
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