Man pleads down to manslaughter in 2024 Jefferson City bar-fight death

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man has pleaded guilty to first-degree involuntary manslaughter in an August 2024 bar fight that led to a man’s death.

Kamari Balton, 27, was previously charged with second-degree murder in the death of Rafael Ayala. He pleaded guilty in Cole County on Friday morning. He will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 7. Court filings show that he is facing a maximum sentence of seven years.

Previous reporting shows police had found Ayala on the ground unconscious on Aug. 17, 2024, outside of Twisted Chicks, a Jefferson City bar. Balton was arrested about a month later.

The owner of the bar at the time told ABC 17 News that the fight occurred in the parking lot outside of the building after the bar was closed.

Balton has been held at the Cole County Jail since his 2024 arrest.