Miller finally sentenced

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- It took more than a year and multiple reschedulings, but a Fort Scott man's fate has finally been decided in the Bourbon County District Court.

Robert L. Miller was sentenced Friday afternoon to a total of 47 months in state prison by 6th District Judge Mark Ward in connection with the December 2009 murder of local 37-year-old Tynce Joles.

Miller, who was 24 at the time of the incident, was originally charged with first-degree murder. He later entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and one count of battery.

Miller's attorney, Charles O'Hara, and Bourbon County Attorney Terri Johnson agreed on a recommended sentence of the maximum 43 months for the charge of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and four months for the battery charge.

Ward followed the recommendation allowing the sentences to run consecutively. Miller will be given credit for time served, which will count toward the battery charge. The remainder of the 10 months that Miller has already served at the Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center will be applied to the 43-month sentence.

"Somebody died and you need to be punished for that," Ward said after delivering Miller's sentence.

In addition to prison time, Miller is required to pay all costs associated with the case such as fingerprinting and attorney's fees. He is also required to pay restitution in the amounts of $9,249.76 to Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, $99 to Overland Park Radiology, $31.55 to Midwest Pathology Consultants, $515.50 to Mercy Health Center, and $1,325 to Bourbon County.

Ward described the incident as tragic and said that matters were made even worse by the fact that Miller was friends with the Joles family. O'Hara said that Miller chose to accept a plea agreement to avoid putting his family, as well as Joles' family, through a trial.

"I'm sorry that I've let my family and friends down," Miller said. "I feel sorry for Tynce Joles' children."

Ward denied Johnson's request to require a mental evaluation prior to Miller beginning his 36-month parole period after his sentence is over. Ward told Miller he will have access to many programs through the Kansas Department of Corrections and that he hopes he will take advantage of them.

Miller was arrested by the Fort Scott Police Department on Dec. 15, 2009 after police responded to a disturbance call of shots fired.

Upon arrival at the 300 block of North Ford Street, officers found a vehicle off the road at Elm and Mineral streets. Joles was found unresponsive in the driver's seat. He was transported to Mercy Health Center and later pronounced dead.