Kansas man gets 7 years in prison after allegedly shooting teenage refugee to death in laundromat

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (TCN) — A 24-year-old man has been charged with murder, seven years after he allegedly shot and killed a 15-year-old high school student at the laundromat where he worked.

Kansas City, Kansas, police announced a breakthrough in the December Htoo case on Thursday, July 18. KSHB-TV reports that the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office is charging Luis Samano with murder and attempted aggravated robbery. Samano is currently serving a sentence for an unrelated crime.

According to KCTV-TV, police believe Htoo was shot and killed during an attempted robbery on November 18, 2017, while he was locking up the Maple Hill Laundromat. However, the case was frozen due to no witnesses or surveillance footage from the crime scene.

In 2021, Lenexa Police Department officers recovered a gun that matched the shell casings from the scene of Htoo’s murder. Investigators tracked down the gun’s owner, who reportedly told police he believed Samano had fired the fatal shot. Earlier this year, a Cold Case Unit detective was able to identify a suspect vehicle, which she linked to Samano.

Samano was 17 years old when the shooting occurred.

Htoo was a sophomore at J.C. Harmon High School who immigrated to the United States as a refugee from Myanmar. He reportedly was on the high school wrestling team and a beloved member of his church community.

Htoo’s family said in a statement shared by the Kansas City Police Department: “December is loved and deeply missed by his family, friends and community. He was always smiling, had positive energy and was always involved in his community, including his church youth camp and Bible study. We would like to thank the community and police for taking another look at this case.”

The statement continued: “We understand that solving cold cases is quite difficult. In our culture, we had never experienced anything like this before, as our Karen community was relatively new to the U.S. We are thrilled and grateful for the work that investigators have done.”

MORE:

• Press Release – Kansas City, Kansas Police Department
• Justice for December Htoo: KCKPD Announces Arrest, Charges for 2017 Murder – KHSB
• Charges filed in cold case murder of 15-year-old Harmon High School student – ​​KCTV

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