For Immediate Release
June 28, 2023
A Kansas City man, 26, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for conviction in double homicide of two men in March 2021, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced today.
A Jackson County judge last week sentenced Vontez G. Howard, dob: 11/11/1996 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.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jamie Hunt, Shiante McMahon and Stephen Bertelsman prosecuted the case on behalf of the state of Missouri.
For more information, contact:
Michael Mansur, Director of Communication
Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office
Jean Peters Baker, Prosecutor
Work : (816) 881-3812
Mobile : (816) 674-3954
www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com
mmansur@jacksongov.org