By Hugh Fisher
hfisher@salisburypost.com
Two men found guilty of a 2007 shooting in Kannapolis have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Kenneth Ray Adams Jr. and Michael Lamont Sowell, both formerly of Charlotte, were convicted Tuesday in Rowan County Superior Court.
Both were found guilty on two counts of attempted first degree murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury.
The charges stem from an April 29, 2007 incident.
Adams and Sowell shot two men in front of a home on Grace Street in Kannapolis.
Both victims were shot multiple times but survived.
Adams and Sowell led police on a chase that ended near Concord Mills Mall.
Assistant District Attorney Karen Biernacki said Adams was sentenced Wednesday to two back-to-back prison terms of up to 251 months for the consolidated assault and attempted murder charges.
He also pled guilty to two charges incurred while he was in jail: malicious conduct, for spitting on a jailer and misdemeanor assault on a government official, for hitting a corrections officer.
He received an additional 15-to-18-month term for those charges.
All told, Biernacki said, Adams will serve a minimum of 34 years and 9 months before being eligible for parole.
Sowell, whom Biernacki said had a lengthier prior record, was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 251 to 311 months.
He also pled guilty to a charge of possession of a controlled substance while in jail awaiting trial, and received an additional 12-to-15-month term.
Sowell will serve a minimum of 41 years, 8 months before he’s eligible for release.
“These acts were so violent that we had to treat them very seriously,” Biernacki said.