A Jackson County jury convicted Howard Chase IV in the death of 6-year-old Angel Hooper.
Police said Angel and her father were walking home from a convenience store on Oct. 19, 2014 when she was shot to death near 107th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard.
Chase was convicted of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
He will be sentenced by a Jackson County judge at a future hearing.
Charity Guinn, Angel’s mother, said she will continue fighting for justice.
"That won't stop. Yeah, that won't stop. I will still be justice for angels, that’s what I’m doing it for. So I'm still going to be here for other families. I'm still going to be here for other victims. I'm just praying for the other families now that we can get some justice served for them as well," said Guinn.
In February 2017, Leandre Smith, a co-defendant in Angel’s murder, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Smith pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. He was sentenced to 23 years on second-degree murder, 15 on unlawful use of a weapon and 10 years on each armed criminal action charge, according to a news release from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. The judge set the sentences to run concurrently.
Smith will be required to serve at least 85 percent of that time in prison.
