A 46-year-old Kansas City, Kansas man has been found guilty in a case stretching back three years, after federal prosecutors say he assaulted a person at a bus stop, stole a gun, then carjacked an off-duty police officer who stopped to help. Van Calvin Callahan Jr. now faces a mandatory prison term that a federal judge must stack on top of any other sentence he receives.
According to KCTV5, Callahan assaulted an individual near East 3rd Street and Grand Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, and stole a gun from the victim. An off-duty Kansas City, Missouri police officer who was driving by saw the assault and stopped to intervene, the station reports, but Callahan pointed the stolen gun at the officer, who ran to safety before Callahan stole the officer's vehicle.
According to the Department of Justice, Callahan was found guilty of carjacking and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
How Police Tracked the Stolen Vehicle
Officers were able to locate the stolen vehicle in Kansas City, Kansas shortly after the carjacking because it had an active tracking device installed, per the Department of Justice. KCKPD officers pursued Callahan once the vehicle was located, and per court documents, he ultimately crashed the vehicle into a house before being taken into custody after a foot chase, the same federal account states.
The incident began in Kansas City, Missouri, before Callahan drove into Kansas City, Kansas, the Department of Justice notes.
A Three-Year Delay Rooted in a Competency Fight
The federal criminal complaint against Callahan was originally filed in August 2023, not long after the incident and his arrest. But his prosecution stalled for more than a year after his defense attorney requested a mental competency evaluation that October, according to federal court records obtained through GovInfo. A forensic psychologist found Callahan temporarily incompetent to stand trial in early 2024, citing residual effects of substance use and persecutory thinking, the filing shows.
A magistrate judge issued a report in May 2025 recommending that Callahan's competency be restored, according to court records. Separately, the case ended with a guilty finding.
Mandatory Minimum Awaits at February Sentencing
Callahan is scheduled to be sentenced on February 25, 2027.
The brandishing conviction carries its own separate weight. Federal law requires a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years for brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
