A Lowell man found guilty in January of voluntary manslaughter was sentenced to 20 years Friday.
Charles Bayne, 22, was convicted in the shooting death in July of Cody Klotz, in the 17000 block of Mount Street in Lowell. Bayne was found not guilty of the original murder charge he faced in the case.
Deputy prosecutor Josh Mahler asked for 17 1/2 years in prison with five years for a gun enhancement and five additional years in community corrections, for a total of 27 years — the age Klotz was when he was killed.
Bayne’s attorney, Kevin Milner, asked for a 10-year prison sentence with 9 years suspended.
Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez acknowledged the number of people who wrote positively on Bayne’s behalf and said he saw nothing that would indicate Bayne deserved more than 17 1/2 years. He sentenced Bayne to 15 years in prison with an additional five years for gun enhancement to be served in community corrections afterward. Bayne was immediately taken into custody.
Bayne told police that Klotz was upset with him because he was dating Klotz’s former fiancee, who told police she ended their relationship in May and began dating Bayne around June 1, the probable cause affidavit states.
As Bayne and the woman were about to fall asleep around 3 a.m., July 15, they began receiving Snapchats from a mutual friend’s phone because the couple had blocked Klotz from contacting them on their cellphones, records said.
Klotz, of Lowell, told them he was on his way to beat up Bayne, documents said.
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Bayne told investigators he grabbed his gun and went outside to wait for Klotz, documents said.
As he sat on the tailgate of a pickup truck in the 17000 block of Mount Street outside Lowell in Cedar Creek Township, Klotz arrived with a friend and walked up to him. Bayne told Klotz he had a gun, records said. As Klotz tried to grab Bayne by the legs and pull him off the tailgate, Bayne told police he pointed the gun at Klotz and fired, records said.
Klotz was shot once in the upper left chest area and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Vasquez asked Bayne why he chose to grab his gun and wait outside for Klotz instead of calling 911.
“Your actions in doing what you did was your own downfall,” Vasquez said. “It’s murder. It’s death, and all because you acted unreasonably.”
Hilary Bostick, the mother of Cody Klotz’s 6-year-old daughter, said in her impact statement that regardless of their issues, Klotz was a great father and that now, their daughter suffers without him.
“They say life isn’t fair, but it shouldn’t be this cruel,” she said.
Bayne said he “never wanted this to happen with Cody” and that he was sorry for what he put his family through.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.