Muncie man, 21, sentenced to 58 years for murder, robbery convictions

MUNCIE, Ind. — A young Muncie man on Wednesday was sentenced to 58 years in prison for murder and robbery convictions.

Last month, a Delaware Circuit Court 5 jury found Kevoszia J. Winston, 21, guilty of charges stemming from the January 2020 death of Seth N. Barton, a 19-year-old Muncie resident.

Testimony indicated Barton was fatally shot during an armed robbery in an apartment in the 2500 block of West White River Boulevard.

Prosecutors said Winston and a co-defendant — Dimorrea J. Benning, 21, also of Muncie — robbed two occupants of the apartment of drugs, money and guns.

Judge Thomas Cannon Jr. — who on Wednesday imposed a 55-year sentence for the murder conviction and a three-year term for the robbery — said Winston had displayed the character of "a cold, callous killer without conscience."

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The judge said the fatal shooting of Barton — which witnesses said took place as the bandits were leaving the apartment, and while the victim was sleeping on a recliner — was committed "without any provocation or reason."

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig said Barton "woke up to a bullet hole in (his chest) and then essentially drowned in (his) own blood."

Defense attorney Shannon Collins of Carmel noted her client was 18 at the time of the homicide, "still a child."

"Eighteen is not an adult as far as your brain goes, especially in males," she said.

Collins said Winston had a "huge opportunity to change" and become a "functioning member of society."

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Barton's father said his son's death was "the worst possible thing a person could go through in their life."

He tearfully read a letter he had received from his son shortly before his death.

"You stole my treasure," he told Winston. "You stole my life."

Winston declined to make a statement before being sentenced. He did indicate he would appeal his convictions.

A member of the defendant's family had her cellphone temporarily seized by a court security officer after she reportedly took a photograph during Wednesday's hearing.

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After the hearing, and outside the courtroom, Winston's mother used the phone to play a recording of a recent phone conversation with a local man she maintained was at the westside apartment on the day of Barton's slaying.

She said that man — not called as a witness at the April trial — indicated a person other than her son was responsible for the homicide.

Benning's trial, also on murder and robbery charges, is set for June 21.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Kevoszia J. Winston, of Muncie, sentenced to 58 years for 2020 slaying