Kansas City man found guilty of shooting and killing former co-worker

PLATTE COUNTY, Mo. (KQTV) -- A Kansas City man who shot and killed his former co-worker and friend was found guilty Tuesday following a two-day trial in Platte County Circuit Court.

Daniel Kelati, 55, was convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action, but pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to his crimes.

"The defendant murdered his former co-worker and friend, Tariku Fite, at the Quik Trip in Riverside as Mr. Fite was beginning to pump gas into his vehicle," Platte County Prosecutor Erik Zahnd said. "Kelati shot him in the head at close range. The murder was captured on security video."

According to a news release from Platte County, prosecutors proved at the trial that shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2021, police responded to the Quik Trip in Riverside after 911 calls described a young man being shot at a gas pump.

The first responding Riverside officer found a man later identified as Fite lying near a gas pump with a gunshot wound to the head.

Per the news release, Kelati, who was observed parked directly behind Fite's vehicle at the gas pump, approached the Riverside officer and stated, "Officer, I am the one. I kill him. He follow me. I am the one. I kill him."

Kelati was immediately taken into custody, and his vehicle was searched, where a Ruger 9mm handgun was found in the driver's seat. A single 9mm shell casing was found near where Fite was shot.

Kelati remains in custody in the Platte County Jail and is set for sentencing at 10:30 a.m. on June 29.