Sedalia man sentenced to life in prison

BUFFALO, Mo. -- A Sedalia man will spend the rest of his life in prison for helping kill a man in an ambush one year ago.

Dallas County Circuit Court Judge Theodore Scott sentenced Kinya T. Kerr, 23, on Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 25 years.

Kerr was convicted in May of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the July 15 killing of Richard T. Buckner, 23. Kerr's trial was held in Dallas County on a change of venue.

At trial, Pettis County prosecutor Jeff Mittelhauser said that Kerr and two other men waited for Buckner near a Sedalia bridge, then riddled his car with bullets when he drove past. Investigators said at least a dozen bullets hit the car.

In May, a jury convicted a co-defendant, Lloyd Stoner, on the same charges.

Charges against a third man suspected in the case, Michael Byrd, were dismissed earlier this year due to a lack of evidence.