By Kendrick Calfee March 1, 2026 Kansas City Star

A federal judge ordered the release of Richard A. Brown this week, vacating a life sentence he received nearly three decades ago for his role in a 1988 arson that led to the deaths of six Kansas City firefighters. The order handed down Friday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri granted Brown’s amended motion for compassionate release.

The order credited him for the nearly 29 years he was incarcerated. 

Senior U.S. District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan Jr. concluded that “extraordinary and compelling circumstances” justified Brown’s reduced sentence. Brown will be placed on five years of probation and must pay $536,000 in restitution to the Kansas City Fire Department, the order states.

“The Court commends Brown’s efforts and finds that his rehabilitation combined with his youth at the time of sentencing qualify as extraordinary and compelling circumstances which justify granting his motion for compassionate release,” the court order states.

Brown was 18-years-old when he and four co-defendants were convicted for setting fires at a highway construction site in southeast Kansas City on Nov. 29, 1988.

Feb. 27, 2026 KMBC 9 News  

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One of the men convicted in one of the darkest incidents in Kansas City history is being granted release from prison.

Officials said Friday that Richard W. Brown, one of the five individuals convicted after tens of thousands of pounds of explosives stored at a construction site near 87th Street and Blue River Road blew up, killing those responding firefighters, is being granted compassionate release from prison.

On Nov. 29, 1988, fires at a storage container containing 25,000 pounds of explosives led to an explosion that killed Capt. Gerald Halloran, Thomas Fry, Luther Hurd, Capt. James Kilventon Jr., Robert McKarnin and Michael Oldham.

Witnesses said the force of the explosion turned their 10-ton firetruck "into a piece of shredded garbage."

A memorial in their honor still stands near that blast site today.

Feb. 27,2026 Fox4 News by: Dillon Seckington

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man sentenced to life in prison for killing six Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) firefighters more than three decades ago will soon be released.

Court records show that Richard Brown, one of five convicted in the case, was granted compassionate release on Friday, Feb. 27, and will now serve five years of supervised release. He was convicted back in 1997, spending the past 29 years in prison.

Brown’s 1997 conviction stemmed from his involvement in a 1988 fire that ultimately led to the deaths of the firefighters.

Court records show that those firefighters were fighting two fires at a highway construction site at 71 Highway and 87th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. An aluminum storage trailer holding 25,000 pounds of explosives was on fire and exploded, killing all six firefighters at the scene. A second trailer with 30,000 pounds of explosives also exploded at the scene.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A man serving life in connection with the deaths of six Kansas City firefighters will soon walk free.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri vacated Richard R. Brown’s life sentence. The court resentenced Brown to time served.

Brown was convicted in 1997 and has served nearly three decades in federal prison.

He was convicted in connection with a 1988 highway construction site fire. The fire happened at 71 Highway and 87th Street.

 As part of the multimedia art exhibition Closure Is Not Justice, we will host a panel discussion on "Law, Media, & Art" at 6:30 p.m. this Thursday, September 14th at Vulpes Bastille (1737 Locust, KCMO). Panelists will include co-defendant Bryan Sheppard, attorney Cyndy Short, and artists Aja Mujinga and Andrew Johnson. It will be moderated by KC Magazine's Molly Higgins. https://www.closureisnotjustice.com/ for more info.