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A 23-year-old Stockton man was sentenced to more than seven years in prison this week for shooting a man in the face in an attempt to rob him of 4 pounds of marijuana in what federal prosecutors called a "drug deal gone horribly wrong." His codefendant was sentenced to one year for his involvement in the same crime.
Khari Moore and codefendant Malik Lott drove from Stockton to Redwood City to meet with two marijuana dealers to purchase 4 pounds of marijuana for $4,000 with the intent to resell it, prosecutors said in a filed indictment.
The drug deal took place on April 2018 in a Redwood City liquor store parking lot, where the four men sat inside a pickup truck to make the exchange, records show. During a "chaotic scene," Moore pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and shot the driver of the vehicle – who had started to flee – "multiple times at close range in the face and back," records show.
Moore "shot a person multiple times at close range, nearly killing him due to a drug deal gone horribly wrong," federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.
One of the bullets passed through the driver’s cheek and out the other side of his mouth. The driver was gravely wounded, spent days in a coma, and has had numerous reconstructive surgeries. It is nothing short of a miracle that he is alive. His life, however, has been irreparably harmed and he will never be the same as he was before the shooting. – Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Hinds, Northern District of California, SF Division.
After the shooting, the two defendants drove home without the drugs, court records show.
On July 13, 2021, Moore was charged with the drug distribution conspiracy and weapons charge. He pleaded guilty to both counts. Lott was charged by indictment on October 1, 2020, with the conspiracy charge, as well as additional drug trafficking, robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery charges. As part of his plea agreement, Lott pleaded guilty to the drug distribution conspiracy charge and the other charges were dismissed. Lott was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his role in the crime, according to a filed indictment.
Moore and Lott will begin serving their prison terms immediately. In addition to the prison terms, Senior District Judge Illston ordered the defendants to serve five years and three years of supervised release and ordered Moore to pay restitution.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF and Redwood City Police Department.
