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Crime & Courts
Posted: Jul 30, 2026 2:52 PMUpdated: Jul 30, 2026 2:52 PM
Independence, Kan. Man Sentenced for 2020 Double Murder
Nathan Thompson
An Independence, Kansas man has been sentenced to more than 44 years in prison for the 2020 killings of two men whose bodies were found inside a crashed vehicle.
24-year-old James Gofourth was sentenced last week after entering a no contest plea in April to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery. A no contest plea allows a defendant to accept punishment without admitting guilt.
Prosecutors say Gofourth was 18 years old when he shot and killed 27-year-old Tyler Cook and 24-year-old Rodricus Dawson on Oct. 16, 2020.
Authorities say Cook and Dawson were found dead inside a vehicle after it crashed into an apartment building on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Independence. A third person was injured in the shooting.
Gofourth's prison sentence of more than 44 years will begin after he completes sentences he is already serving for unrelated crimes committed in Labette and Elk counties.
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