A Kansas City man has been convicted of aggravated fleeing of a stop of a motor vehicle and tampering with physical evidence by a Platte County jury on Thursday, Oct. 29.
Mitchell
Mario Mitchell, 40, of Kansas City, was found guilty of those two offenses after the jury deliberated approximately two hours. Mitchell was charged with aggravated fleeing (also known as Valentine’s Law), a relatively new law that toughens penalties for criminals who flee from law enforcement at a high rate of speed or in a dangerous manner to avoid the stop.
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Gibson said, “Valentine’s Law became effective on Aug. 28, 2024, and the law is named in honor of St. Louis County Police Detective Antonio Valentine, who tragically died in a 2021 crash involving a fleeing driver. My office will always vigorously prosecute criminals who flee from law enforcement officers in a dangerous manner.”
Prosecutors proved at trial that on April 20, 2025, at 2:58 a.m., Platte County Deputy Sheriff Kaven McGary attempted to make a routine traffic stop for a moving violation on a white Ford Edge with Texas plates near Prairie View and Northwest 77th Terrace. The vehicle initially stopped, but then suddenly took off at a high rate of speed onto Highway 9. The vehicle turned onto Belvidere and proceeded westbound. The speed limit on Belvidere was 30 mph. The Ford Edge made a U-turn and traveled back eastbound on Belvidere. McGary determined the Ford Edge was driving approximately 100 mph. McGary lost sight of the Ford Edge as it turned back southbound onto Hwy. 9. McGary followed southbound on Hwy. 9 and then observed the Ford Edge crashed into a pole at Northwest 73rd and Hwy. 9. The car was still running and the tires were spinning but the vehicle was unoccupied.
McGary radioed for backup and several other Platte County deputies arrived to search for the driver. McGary found an alcohol bottle in the vehicle and smelled an odor of alcohol and marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. He located a phone inside the vehicle that had a screen-lock picture of a black male next to a child.
After deputies searched the area without success, a tow-truck was called. As the tow-truck was loading up the vehicle, McGary observed a black male hiding in the woods near the vehicle. Sgt. Jessica Duda arrived as backup and the black male was instructed to exit the woods. After exiting the woods, McGary was able to determine that the man hiding in the woods was the same man pictured on the screen-lock on the phone he found in the car. Deputies determined that man was the defendant, Mario Mitchell.
Mitchell was arrested and taken to the Platte County Jail for investigation of aggravated fleeing and driving while intoxicated.
Deputies secured a search warrant from a Platte County judge to take Mitchell’s blood, but Mitchell refused to comply with the directives of the search warrant.
Deputies were also able to determine that the Ford Edge was rented by the defendant’s mother from Enterprise Rent-A-Car several days earlier.
Prosecutors charged Mitchell as a “prior and persistent felony offender” which allows enhanced punishment for his crimes since he had been convicted of two prior felonies before committing this offense. On the aggravated fleeing count, Mitchell faces up to 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. The tampering with physical evidence count is a misdemeanor and he faces one year in the Platte County Jail.
Gibson added, “Make no mistake, we will ask for the maximum sentence in this case. People need to learn that when they flee from law enforcement in a dangerous manner and they get caught, their days of running from the law have ended.”
Final sentencing for Mitchell is set for Jan. 7, 2027 at 10 a.m.
The case was investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Office. The case was tried by Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Zachary McKnight and Jaclyn Taylor.