Days before he was supposed to stand trial for a fatal shooting that occurred in 2023, a Springfield man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison Friday morning.
Peyton Lafferty, 19, pleaded guilty on June 7, 2024, to the class A felony of second-degree murder for the shooting death of 22-year-old Jason Walker.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped the charges of armed criminal action and delivery of a controlled substance, according to online court records.
Lafferty waived his right to a sentencing assessment, and Greene County Circuit Judge Kaiti Greenwade sentenced him to 20 years in a Missouri Department of Corrections prison.
After shooting, Lafferty texted his mom: ‘i let u n daddy down'
Springfield police officers responded at 11:23 p.m. June 15, 2023, to the reports of shots fired and someone who had been shot at his residence at the 3400 block of S. Virginia Ave.
Officers found the victim, Walker, with gunshot wounds. Walker was transported to a Springfield hospital, where he died.
According to court documents, Lafferty told police he had been at Walker’s home that day and claimed he was there to buy shoes and clothes from Walker. He also said he had agreed to provide $200 worth of cocaine in exchange for clothes.
Lafferty claimed he was not armed, and that he and Walker began to argue while negotiating over the clothes and cocaine. Lafferty claimed Walker pulled the gun and the two wrestled for the gun when it went off.
Lafferty eventually admitted he brought the gun to Walker’s house that night, but continued to claim Walker was the aggressor and that Walker came at him with a knife.
According to the probable cause statement, investigators did not locate a knife in or around the area of the living room or kitchen where Walker was found.
As they investigated the shooting, detectives contacted Lafferty’s mother who allowed them to search her phone.
According to court documents, Lafferty texted his mother around 3:30 a.m. — a few hours after the shooting — to say “im so sorry” and “i let u n daddy down.”
