TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A man has been acquitted in a fatal home invasion shooting near Topeka.
The Topeka Capital-Journal (https://bit.ly/2mQ81Hf ) reports that 26-year-old Angel Gabriel Olavarria-Velez was cleared Friday of premeditated first-degree murder in the 2014 death of 29-year-old Dustin McKinney and several other felonies.
Defense attorney Gary Conwell said Tuesday that Olavarria-Velez told him from the beginning that he wasn’t involved in the slaying. After the final prosecution witness testified, Conwell sought a directed verdict from the judge for acquittal. Court records show that prosecutors didn’t oppose it.
Olavarria-Velez did plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of intimidation of a witness and felony interference with law enforcement. Sentencing is set for May 11.
Another man pleaded no contest previously to voluntary manslaughter in McKinney’s death, and two others were arrested last week.
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Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, https://www.cjonline.com
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