A Mount Pleasant man has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for the shooting death of a 19-year-old woman at a Burlington bar earlier this year.
Kaysean Rice, 23, was sentenced Monday after a Lee County jury convicted him last month of voluntary manslaughter, reckless use of a firearm and intimidation with a dangerous weapon.
The case stems from the March 7 shooting of 19-year-old Janea Osier during a fight involving several people at Chavy’s Bar and Grill, formerly known as Hot Toddies, on Agency Street in Burlington.
Rice admitted he shot Osier in the abdomen but maintained that he acted in self-defense. Osier was taken to Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington, where she died the following morning. Before her death, Osier identified Rice as the person who shot her.
A Lee County jury convicted Rice on August 19 following a six-day trial in Keokuk. An earlier trial in Des Moines County ended in a mistrial after its first day of testimony.
At Monday’s sentencing, members of Osier’s family gave victim impact statements. Des Moines County Attorney Lisa Schaefer argued for consecutive sentences, which could have totaled 22 years.
District Court Judge Joshua Schier instead ordered Rice’s sentences to run concurrently, meaning Rice faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Schier said court precedent prevented him from imposing consecutive sentences in the case.
Rice may be eligible for parole before serving the full 10-year sentence.