KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Pleasant Hill, Missouri, man was found guilty of murder and other felony charges Friday by a jury in Jackson County.
Michael T. Dumas was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.
The charges stemmed from the shooting death of Sarah Simms in November 2018.
Court records state that Independence police responded to a double shooting in the 3800 block of South Sterling Avenue. Simms was killed, and the other shooting victim was wounded.
Witnesses identified Dumas as the suspect and said he had recently been with Simms.
It was then discovered that Dumas was the suspect in a 2017 murder of Phillip Anderson and was out on bond at the time of the shooting. Simms was identified as a witness of the 2017 murder, according to court documents.
Dumas allegedly got into a rolling gun fight with a car in which Anderson was riding and fired into the vehicle, killing the man.
The alleged killer might have been out on a modified bond due to overcrowding at the Jackson County jail.
Police found Dumas' vehicle outside of the homicide scene and located matching shells from the shooting near that vehicle.
Dumas' sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2020. The jury recommended up to 34 years in prison.
