JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Supreme Court has ordered a new sentencing hearing for a Kansas City man sentenced to life plus 102 years for a string of armed robberies.
Miguel Vaca was convicted of three robberies in Kansas City in 2002. Two were at businesses in a shopping center. The third was an attempted robbery at a girl's birthday party. Prosecutors say Vaca took the girl's mother prisoner and shot at a bystander.
Vaca was called the "Bicycle Bandit" because witnesses described seeing a man flee the first two robberies on a mountain bike.
In its ruling Tuesday, Missouri's high court upheld Vaca's conviction. But it also said a new sentencing hearing was required because Vaca's attorney did not consider introducing evidence of the man's mental health problems.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKRCG