Eric DeValkenaere, the former Kansas City, Missouri, police detective who was convicted of two felonies in the December 2019 shooting death of Cameron Lamb, was sentenced to six years in prison on Friday.
DeValkenaere was convicted on one count of second-degree manslaughter and one count of armed criminal action.
Jackson County Circuit Court Presiding Judge J. Dale Youngs, who presided over DeValkenaere’s bench trial in November and found him guilty, handed down the sentence Friday afternoon.
DeValkenaere was sentenced to three years for second-degree involuntary manslaughter and six years for the armed criminal action conviction.
The sentence will run concurrently, meaning he will serve six years.
Defense attorneys for DeValkenaere will appeal his conviction, but the brief couldn’t be filed until after the sentencing, according to lead attorney Molly Hastings.
Youngs previously ruled that DeValkenaere will remain free on bond, as he has throughout the legal process so far, during the forthcoming appeal.
DeValkenaere's conviction on one count of second-degree involuntary manslaughter, a Class E felony, carried a maximum four-year sentence.
Armed criminal action carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three years with a maximum of 15 years.
The central issue of the case against DeValkenaere hinged on whether he and Troy Schwalm, the other detective present on Lamb’s property during the shooting, had the legal right to be there.
Youngs ultimately ruled that without a warrant, without the presumption a warrant would have been granted and without permission to enter the property, DeValkenaere had violated Lamb’s civil rights, making the conduct reckless.
The Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office asked for Youngs to impose a nine-year sentence.
DeValkenaere was indicted in June 2020 by a Jackson County grand jury.
Lamb’s family, which has been outspoken about what it viewed as an unnecessary killing, has filed a wrongful-death civil lawsuit against DeValkenaere and the KCPD Board of Police Commissioners on behalf of Lamb’s three children.
This story was originally published by Tod Palmer ofKSBHin Kansas City, Missouri.
