Manslaughter conviction sends KC man to 25 years in prison

A Kansas City man was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week for fatally shooting another man on the side of the road on the southeast side of the city in 2016, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced.

A jury found Antonio M. Miles, 43, guilty of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in July for the killing of James L. Hines, 34.

The shooting happened July 17, 2016, in the 7600 block of East 79th Street. Police found Hines lying on the side of the road with a gunshot wound to the head. The victim’s cellphone was next to his body and his pants were missing.

A witness later told police Miles came to her workplace intoxicated, agitated and smelling of PCP or formaldehyde that day, court records said. Miles told the witness he had been driving around with Hines and suggested getting out of the vehicle to “smoke a dip,” court records said. He allegedly told the witness he shot Hines and took his pants.

Miles reportedly said he threw the victim’s pants away at a car wash on Troost Avenue and discarded his own clothes in a dumpster behind a restaurant in Liberty.

Police said they later found Miles’ clothes in a trash bag in the dumpster. Lab tests showed the clothes contained Hines’ blood and Miles’ DNA, court records said.

A Jackson County judge sentenced Miles to 25 years on the manslaughter conviction and five years on the armed criminal action conviction on Wednesday. The sentences are set to run concurrently.

This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 7:30 PM.