By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBUS, Kan. — Aaron Graham will remain free on bond until his sentencing for first-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2007, shooting death of Jamey Richardson.
Graham, 23, of Pittsburg, pleaded guilty Friday to the crime, which includes a mandatory sentence of life in prison. He would be eligible for parole in 20 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 23.
The prosecution had filed the motion to revoke Graham’s bond so that he would start serving time immediately. In a court hearing Monday, Cherokee County Attorney John Bullard argued that before he pleaded guilty, Graham had a presumption of innocence, but that the plea has negated that presumption.
Bullard said there was more of a risk that Graham would flee to avoid his sentence.
Graham’s attorney, Shane Adamson, said Graham was not a flight risk. He said his client has shown up for every court hearing.
He also said there was no need to revoke Graham’s bond to protect public safety, because the incident that resulted in Richardson’s death was an isolated incident.
“It’s tragic,” Adamson said.
“He struggled with making the decision to plead,” Adamson said. “Based on the weight of the evidence, I think he made the right decision.”
Adamson said allowing Graham to remain free on bond would give him a little more time to spend with his wife and child.
Cherokee County District Judge Kent Lynch denied the motion to revoke Graham’s bond, saying the assertion that there is more of a flight risk doesn’t make it so. He ordered Graham to report to court services in person once weekly, and to report by phone every other weekday. He said Graham also must not leave Crawford or Cherokee counties without the court’s permission.
Adamson said after Monday’s hearing the plea deal was in his client’s best interest because with the agreement, his client knows what will happen, while there were risks with going to trial, including a high probability of a conviction of multiple felonies and a longer sentence.
Co-defendant Samuel Becker, 23, of Pittsburg, was sentenced in March to life plus 5 1/2 years in prison, after being found guilty in January of first-degree murder and 10 other felonies. Co-defendant Edward Gordon, 20, of Baxter Springs, was found guilty of second-degree murder after pleading “no contest” to the charge as part of a plea agreement. The agreement calls for a 10-year sentence. His sentencing is scheduled for July 29, but the date may change.
Local News
Graham to stay free while on bond awaiting sentencing
- Local News
-
-
Couple 'scoop out' ice cream business from the past
When 3-year-old Brynlee Rabel tried coconut ice cream for the first time Tuesday, it was love at first taste. “She got the vanilla, but when she tasted my coconut ice cream she had to have it,” said Kayleigh Daugherty, a Joplin resident who wanted Brynlee to share the same experience she had as a little girl when she visited Anderson’s Ice Cream.
-
Missouri National Guard releases records involving soldiers who looted from Wal-Mart
The Missouri National Guard has released records confirming that four soldiers were disciplined for taking merchandise from the ruins of a Wal-Mart store in Joplin one day after the tornado that devastated the city a year ago.
-
Joplin school board awards contract to complete demolition of JHS
The Joplin Board of Education on Tuesday night accepted a bid for finishing tornado-related demolition at the high school.
-
Auditor cites, commission covers potential shortfall in Jasper County sheriff’s budget
The Jasper County Commission on Tuesday approved the transfer of $23,000 onto the Law Enforcement Sales Tax fund available to the sheriff’s office to cover a potential budget shortfall.
-
Joplin METS director requests space for additional ambulance
If all goes like METS Director Jason Smith hopes, this time next year the service will have two ambulances in Webb City, housed in their own station. At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Smith requested that the council allow the Joplin-based Metro Emergency Transport System to rent or lease space at the former public works building, 110 E. Church St.
-
Mike Pound: Food competitions combine to make culinary heaven
It’s such a great idea, you wonder why someone didn’t think of it before. In fact, it’s such a good idea that it’s possible it came about by accident.
-
Mo. court strikes down part of 2008 harassment law
The Missouri Supreme Court has struck down part of a state harassment law enacted after the suicide of a St. Charles County teenager who was teased over the Internet.
-
Cattle rustlers strike again in SW Mo. county
The plague of cattle rustling goes on in southwest Missouri’s Greene County.
Sheriff Jim Arnott says the latest episode occurred sometime Sunday in Walnut Grove. -
Bids sought for Cherokee County water treatment plant
After many delays, construction bids are being sought for a water treatement plant and water tank for the Spring River Public Wholesale Water District No. 19.
-
Dog helps some get through the court process
Sophie, a mutt of a dog with draping ears and dotted brows, is helping people in St. Louis County court tell stories of crime to judges, investigators and attorneys.
- More Local News Headlines
-
