TOLEDO, Ohio — The father of 3-year-old Malachi Barnes spoke out Tuesday after two men were convicted of his son's murder.
A jury found Matthew Smith and K'veon Giles guilty Monday in the drive-by shooting on Thanksgiving in 2018.
RELATED: Day 5: Jury will continue deliberation Monday morning in case of slain 3-year-old Malachi Barnes
Anthony Barnes said Tuesday that justice was served and Malachi can now rest peacefully.
Giles and Smith were found guilty of aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault.
Barnes said he was driving north along I-75 with his children when a car pulled up next to him and the occupants opened fire, shooting Malachi in the head.
Co-defendant Andre White testified that Smith and Giles were the ones who pulled the trigger. White also was charged in the case and pleaded guilty to lesser charges of complicity to involuntary manslaughter and complicity to felonious assault in exchange for his testimony. White is expected to be sentenced Wednesday.
Barnes said that he can now move on after the guilty verdict and he feels like his son can too.
"I feel like he knows it too. He's just like, 'Yep, I can go on and leave this Earth now and be with God.' I feel relief knowing that. I just let justice do its thing," he said. "Just the whole layout of little kids playing cowboys out here. Hopefully, they can see what's in store for them. At the end of the day, once all the guns and everything is done and over with, you're faced with reality and your actions."
Giles and Smith will be sentenced on March 23 at 2 p.m.
Barnes said that he hopes the duo will get the max penalty in this case which would be life without parole.
According to sentencing guidelines, the following sentences could be imposed on Giles and Smith:
Guilty of aggravated murder:
- 20 years to life
- 25 years to life
- 30 to life
- Life without parole
The judge is to select which of those four options fit the crime.
Guilty of murder:
- 15 years to life
Guilty of felonious assault:
- 2-8 years
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