Jury finds Muncie man guilty of murder, robbery

MUNCIE, Ind. — A Delaware Circuit Court 5 jury on Friday evening found a Muncie man guilty of murder.

Kevoszia J. Winston — who observed his 21st birthday this week — was also found guilty of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury in the January 2020 shooting death of Seth N. Barton.

Judge Thomas Cannon Jr. set sentencing for May 18.

Testimony during the trial indicated Barton, a 19-year-old Muncie man, was fatally shot during an armed robbery in an apartment in the 2500 block of West White River Boulevard.

Winston and a co-defendant — Dimorrea J. Benning, now 20, also of Muncie — were accused of robbing two occupants of the westside apartment of drugs, money and guns.

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A witness said Winston fired a gunshot that fatally wounded Barton, who was asleep on a recliner, as he left the apartment.

In his closing statement to jurors on Friday, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig said eyewitness accounts, cellphone records and text messages all placed Winston at the murder scene.

When the then-teenager was later apprehended in Anderson, Craig said, he had with him items that had been stolen from the Muncie apartment.

Defense attorney Shannon Collis, of Carmel, noted the gun used in the slaying had not been recovered, and compared the killing to "a big jigsaw puzzle... with pieces of missing."

She acknowledged her client was at the Muncie apartment the morning of Barton's death, but suggested the fatal shooting took place after he left.

"Justice must be done," she said. "But it must be the right justice."

Winston first stood trial in March 2021, but a mistrial was declared after Craig began to experience flu-like symptoms.

In Indiana, a murder conviction carries a maximum 65-year sentence. The robbery charge was a Level 2 felony carrying up to 30 years in prison.

Deputy Prosecutor Bryce Winslow joined Craig in presenting the state's case against Winston. The jury began its deliberations Friday at mid-afternoon.

Benning's trial, also on murder and robbery counts, is scheduled to begin on June 21.

Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman noted his office in 2022 has taken four homicide cases to trial — three murder cases and one for dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death.

"All defendants were convicted as charged," Hoffman said. "I cannot be more proud of my staff. We are making Delaware County safer, one case at a time."

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: Muncie man found guilty of murder in January 2020 shooting