19-year-old man sentenced to 2½ years in prison for Underhill Park drive-by shooting

A 19-year-old man linked to a local gang received a 2½-year prison sentence Wednesday for a drive-by shooting that left a 20-year-old man wounded last spring at Underhill Park.

As part of a plea agreement, Kjon McKinley, who walked into the courtroom handcuffed and wearing yellow Spokane County inmate clothing, pleaded guilty to drive-by shooting and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

McKinley’s standard sentence range for the shooting was about 5½ to 7½ years, but the prosecution and defense agreed on a 2½-year exceptional sentence based on McKinley’s youth and concerns with evidence.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Dean Chuang handed down the sentence, which Chuang called a “bargain.”

McKinley, who was 18 at the time of the shooting and a convicted felon, will receive credit for time served in jail, or about 11 months.

“Looking at your criminal history, this has got to stop,” Chuang said.

According to court documents, the victim was playing basketball the afternoon of April 5 at the East Central Spokane Park when the group heard gunshots. Twelve shots were fired into the park, where other people, including children, were playing, documents say.

One of the shots struck the 20-year-old. A 17-year-old, who is believed to be the target, transported him to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

McKinley is associated with a local gang known as the Swavii Crips that was said to be feuding with the 5th Street Crips that frequents the Underhill Park area, documents say.

Witnesses and surveillance footage showed a white Yukon GMC with custom rims in the area as a potential suspect vehicle, which Spokane police saw leaving the area after they were dispatched to the park, according to documents. Police traced the vehicle’s license plate back to McKinley’s mother, who lives with him in the Logan Neighborhood.

Detectives also traced a phone they believe McKinley was using to the area of the park around the time of the shooting.

As a juvenile, McKinley fired numerous rounds into Cannon Park on April 12, 2020, and was sent to prison, according to court documents.

Spokane police executed a search warrant April 27 and arrested McKinley at his residence.

Chuang ordered McKinley to serve 18 months of community custody when he’s released from prison.