A 23-year-old Leavenworth man has been convicted of second-degree murder and four other charges after a 2025 traffic stop near a Basehor church spiraled into a 95-mph chase that left one passenger dead and another severely injured. Johmelo Marki Mapp-Jenkins entered a no-contest plea on all five charges during the second day of his jury trial, accepting conviction and sentencing as though a jury had found him guilty.
According to the Kansas City Star, the case began on August 23, 2025, when a Basehor police officer pulled Mapp-Jenkins over for speeding on Leavenworth Road near Holy Angels Catholic Church. Mapp-Jenkins initially stopped, then took off as the officer walked toward the vehicle, driving southbound on 147th Street at more than 95 miles per hour before crashing onto an embankment near the intersection with Parallel Road. He then fled the crash scene on foot, leaving his passengers unconscious inside the wrecked vehicle, per the Star's reporting.
Kansas Highway Patrol crash investigators determined Mapp-Jenkins failed to yield at a stop sign at 147th Street and Parallel Road before striking a dirt embankment on the south edge of the roadway, according to St. Joseph Post. In the immediate aftermath, Kansas Highway Patrol identified the fleeing vehicle as a 2008 Honda Accord and named the two passengers as 27-year-old Melissa K. Howard and 42-year-old Andrew M. Jones, both of Leavenworth. All three occupants were initially hospitalized with serious injuries; one passenger later died.
Emergency Response and a Months-Long Gap Before Booking
Emergency crews transported Mapp-Jenkins and both injured passengers to the University of Kansas Medical Center, the region's primary Level 1 trauma center, for emergency treatment following the wreck, the same outlet reported. Mapp-Jenkins later faced charges related to the crash and pursuit.
The pursuit itself unfolded along a stretch of 147th Street south of Leavenworth Road.
Five Convictions, One Plea
Mapp-Jenkins was ultimately convicted of second-degree murder, leaving the scene of a fatality accident, aggravated battery, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in great bodily harm, and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. Under Kansas law, a no-contest plea means the defendant neither admits nor denies the charges but accepts conviction and sentencing as if guilty, per the Leavenworth County Attorney's Office's news release announcing the plea and sentencing date. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, 2026.
County Attorney Todd Thompson said fleeing from police can cause greater problems, injuries, and death, and that drivers are responsible for the safety of their passengers and others on the road, adding they will be held accountable for endangering lives or fleeing law enforcement, per the news release.
Kansas Murder Statutes
K.S.A. 21-5402 addresses first-degree murder, according to the Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes.
An October 2, 2026, Kansas Court of Appeals opinion concerned Matthew Ryan's second-degree murder conviction after an intoxicated wrong-way crash and addressed the admission of prior DUI evidence under K.S.A. 60-455.
Another Fatal Pursuit Case
Hoodline reported an October conviction in Jackson County involving a fleeing driver whose pursuit resulted in two deaths.
