Man sentenced to 11 years in prison for 2003 Chino killing

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man who was convicted last month of voluntary manslaughter for shooting and killing a Chino man in the course of a robbery was sentenced to 11 years in prison this morning in West Valley Superior Court.

Michael Michaux, 28, was acquitted on murder charges by a jury but found guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter for his role in the death of James Dennis, 58.

Dennis was shot and killed by Michaux on May 5, 2003 after Dennis pulled over on Ramona Avenue in Chino to receive a cell phone call on Ramona Avenue in Chino.

While Dennis was on the phone, Michaux shot Dennis twice through the driver's-side window. Michaux took Dennis's wallet and two cell phones and left him to die after shoving him in the back seat.

Michaux was arrested on unrelated charges in February 2006 and confessed to killing Dennis during interviews with police investigators.

The prison sentence issued by Judge Steve Malone was the toughest allowed by law -- voluntary manslaughter carries a sentence of 3 to 11 years.

Michaux will likely be released from prison in 6 to 7 years because he will be credited for time spent in jail awaiting trial, said Gary Ablard, Michaux's attorney.

Family members and friends of Dennis were visibly upset when the verdict was read last month.

Several denounced Michaux's acquittal on murder charges in statements read at Tuesday's sentencing hearing, and called on the judge to issue the maximum sentence allowed by law.

"We feel that Michael got away with murder," said Dennis' daughter, 23-year-old Stacy Dennis.

Dennis said she was speaking at the hearing for herself and for her sister, 27-year-old Heather Dennis, who sat at her side.

"The pain that we feel every day will never go away," she said.

She also called Michaux a "selfish and pathetic excuse for a human being" and said she would never forgive him for killing her father.

Michaux declined to make a statement during the sentencing hearing.

Dennis's sister, Sharon Harrison, said in a statement read aloud by a court staff member that "the verdict was terribly disappointing to me, (Dennis's) family and (Dennis's) friends."

Michaux's attorney said Michaux intends to appeal his sentence. He has 60 days to file a notice of appeal.

Michaux's attorney urged the judge during Tuesday's hearing to sentence Michaux to 6 years in prison, the mid-level term for voluntary manslaughter.