By Roger McKinney

rmckinney@joplinglobe.com

GIRARD, Kan. — Aaron Graham will face a mandatory sentence of life in prison after pleading guilty Friday to first-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2007, shooting death of Jamey Richardson in Baxter Springs.

Graham, 23, of Pittsburg, would be eligible for parole after 20 years. His sentencing is set for Sept. 23. Other felony charges against Graham, including kidnapping, aggravated battery and aggravated assault, were dismissed in return for the guilty plea on the murder charge.

The crime to which Graham pleaded guilty was not premeditated murder, but rather murder while in the commission of another dangerous felony, specifically, kidnapping.

Richardson, a former Pittsburg State University basketball player, was 26 when he was found dead in a car in Baxter Springs. He died of a single gunshot wound to his left calf. Authorities said he bled to death.

Graham’s trial was to begin next week in Columbus. He will have a bond revocation hearing Monday in Columbus.

Graham is the third defendant to be convicted in relation to Richardson’s death.

A Cherokee County jury in January found Samuel Becker, 23, of Pittsburg, guilty of first-degree murder and 10 other felonies. He was sentenced in March to life plus 5 1/2 years in prison. He must serve at least 25 years before he’s eligible for parole.

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 prison sentence. His sentencing is scheduled for July 29, but Veronica Dersch, a Kansas assistant attorney general, on Friday said Gordon’s sentencing might be rescheduled to Sept. 23 to coincide with Graham’s sentencing.

Previous court testimony revealed that the case centered on the theft of a safe from Gordon’s house in Baxter Springs containing money and marijuana for which Gordon owed Graham repayment. Witnesses testified that the three traveled from house to house, threatening Gordon’s friends with a gun and attacking them in an attempt to obtain information about the missing safe. They returned to Gordon’s house, where some witnesses testified they were not allowed to leave. It was outside the house where Richardson was shot.

Dersch said during the court hearing that it was Becker who shot Richardson after a struggle over the gun between Richardson and Graham.

Witnesses testified during court hearings that Graham had used the gun to threaten them, while it was Becker who most often attacked them physically.

Dersch said after the hearing that Graham had the advantage of seeing Becker be found guilty of first-degree murder and several other charges by a jury and being assessed a heavier sentence. She said putting the case before a jury also always includes risks for the prosecution.

“We’re very pleased with this result,” she said, adding that a defendant pleading guilty to first-degree murder is very unusual.