Judge sentences Sikeston man to 50 years in prison in murder case

A Sikeston, Missouri, man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder of a man outside a liquor store in 2015 in a case that involved once-missing video evidence.

A Scott County Circuit Court jury in July convicted 37-year-old Antoine Harris, also know as Harris-Applewhite, of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon.

The jury found that Harris fatally shot Samuel Sanders, 35, of Sikeston, outside a Sikeston liquor store on Dec. 19, 2015 after an altercation between the two men.

Judge David Dolan on Tuesday handed down the sentence, which took into account that Harris was, according to prosecutors, "a prior and persistent offender."

He had previous convictions on drug and resisting arrest charges.

The Sikeston Department of Public Safety (DPS) lost store surveillance video evidence in the murder case, which was subsequently found before the trial.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol investigator found the evidence not in the police station, but on a computer hard drive at another location, officials said.

In the trial, the store video and security video from a DPS camera mounted on a pole near the West Side Liquor Store were repeatedly shown to the jury.

Neither video showed the actual shooting, but did show the actions leading up to the shooting.

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