KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for conviction in a double homicide of two men in March 2021, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
A Jackson County judge sentenced Vontez G. Howard, 26, to 25 years on each Murder 2nd Degree conviction, and 10 years on four Armed Criminal Action charges.
That 10-year sentence was set to run consecutively to the two 25-year sentences for a total of 60 years. Sentences for Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Robbery 1st Degree were also set to run concurrent to other charges.
Howard was convicted by a Jackson County jury in April.
According to court records, Kansas City police responded March 1, 2021, on a reported shooting in the area of Norton Avenue and Anderson.
Victims Kyle Gerhardt and Kristopher Lunsford-Barrett were found in a vehicle. The victims were suffering from gunshot wounds. The vehicle also had caught fire following a crash.
Kansas City detectives initiated an extensive investigation, analyzing area video, phones, DNA evidence and ballistics. They tracked a suspect vehicle and established connections between the defendants and victims near the time of the fatal shootings. Video surveillance showed how the defendants pursued the victims until the victim's vehicle crashed.