Left: Bryson Francka. Right: Kaidan Lamb (Polk County Sheriff's Office).
Two young men in Missouri are facing murder charges after one of them robbed a 61-year-old with an airsoft gun — bragging that it was "some gangster a— s—," according to police — while the other "ran over" him with a car and left the man to die in the street, cops say.
Bryson Francka, 23, and Kaidan Lamb, 18, are charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, and vehicle tampering in connection with the death of Lyman Taylor, 61, last month. Lamb is also charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death after allegedly running Taylor over with his vehicle.
According to their arrest affidavits, Francka was the first of the pair to set upon the sexagenarian while he was at his home in Bolivar. He allegedly showed up wearing a ski mask after being dropped off there and brandished "a brown airsoft gun" while ordering Taylor into a 2001 Dodge Caravan that was at the home.
Police say Francka knows a relative of Taylor's, who was at the residence and helped identify him.
"[Lamb] picked Bryson up at his residence earlier in the evening," the affidavits say. "[Lamb] stated Bryson brandished a brown airsoft gun and told him he needed to go to [Taylor's] residence."
After dropping Francka off, Lamb saw him leaving with Taylor in the minivan and then followed them in his own car, according to police. "[Lamb] observed the van repeatedly slowing and accelerating, consistent with a struggle inside," the affidavits say.
"Kaidan lost sight of the van, then drove over a hill and observed [Taylor] lying in the roadway," the documents allege. "Kaidan admitted he ran over L.T. with his vehicle. Kaidan did not stop, render aid, or contact law enforcement. Kaidan later met up with [Francka] who bragged about having done 'some gangster a— s—.'"
Police were called and found Taylor's body in the road. Police observed multiple damaged mailboxes and debris from the van in the area, along with "fresh tire tracks" and a "blood trail" running north and south.
Investigators were able to track Francka and Lamb down after Taylor's relative identified Francka, according to the affidavits. Lamb initially claimed that he struck Taylor by accident before admitting that "he had lied," the documents say.
Police determined that Francka "used an airsoft gun to commit a forcible robbery" of Taylor, while Lamb subsequently ran over and killed Taylor "as a direct result of the events initiated by Bryson," according to the affidavits.
Both Francka and Lamb were booked at the Polk County Jail. Francka was being held on a $500,000 bond, while Lamb's bond was set at $250,000. They were both scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
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