Appeals court upholds conviction in shooting death

The Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Kveon Carnell Giles for the fatal shooting of a 3-year-old boy who was a passenger in his father’s car at the time.
Giles had been convicted in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on charges of murder, aggravated murder and four counts of felonious assault. Each of the charges included three- and five-year gun specifications, resulting in an aggregate prison sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 45 years.
The child’s father, Anthony Barnes, told police he had just left a Thanksgiving celebration on Nov. 22, 2018 at the America’s Best hotel in Northwood and proceeded from Miami Street to I-75.
While he was driving, a white vehicle pulled alongside and several shots were fired at his vehicle. Barnes and his other son were not hit but his daughter was cut by broken glass. Barnes exited the interstate and drove to St. Vincent Medical Center where doctors removed a .40 caliber bullet from the 3-year-old but he didn’t survive.
Surveillance video from the hotel and the Ohio Department of Transportation from the interstate enabled police to identify the suspect vehicle as a white Chevrolet HHR.
Police also identified two of Giles’ co-defendants, Andre White and Matthew Smith, from hotel video.
Two days after the shooting, White was arrested in Detroit for a separate homicide. After entering a plea he received a sentence of 24 to 50 years for second degree murder. Toledo police interviewed White in Detroit and he agreed to cooperate with the Ohio investigation, identifying Giles as one of the shooters.
According to court records, White’s description of events matched the surveillance video and fingerprint evidence.
In his appeal, Giles challenged much of the prosecution’s evidence, including the admission of a note to White while he was in jail that was attributed to Giles, evidence of cell phone tracking data, and surveillance video of the HHR recorded during the hours preceding his appearance on the video.
The appeals court disagreed and affirmed the judgment of the common pleas court.