Killa City: Weed deal leads to shooting

“Bubba shot me,” Rodney Kemp told a witness who rushed to help him as he lay bleeding near College Avenue on January 5.

Later, Kemp told police, “Bubba set me up.”

Jackson County prosecutors believe that “Bubba” is 25-year-old Hollis Burgin (pictured at right). Prosecutors charged Burgin with second-degree murder and armed criminal action today.

Kemp told police that “Bubba” drove a Chrysler 300. Family members and a witness told police that “Bubba” was a man named “Hollis.” Police tracked down Burgin at Truman Medical Center, the same day as the shooting, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound to his hand. In the parking lot, they found a Chrysler 300, which Burgin said he drove to the hospital. The car belongs to Burgin’s girlfriend.

In interrogation, Burgin told police that Kemp called him several times the day of the murder because he wanted to buy 35 to 40 pounds of marijuana. Burgin said he met Kemp at the 7400 block of College Avenue (the site of the shooting). Burgin said he told Kemp that he couldn’t score that much weed so late at night. He claimed that they agreed to do the deal the next morning. Burgin also told Kemp that he wanted a quarter of the profit. Burgin told police that he left after the conversation, and Kemp walked way to his van. He denied shooting Kemp. — Justin Kendall