Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Josh Walton was found guilty in Douglas County District Court Monday of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an injury accident.
The jury deliberated 11 hours in Walton’s trial for the hit-and-run accident that killed pedestrian Ryan Kanost on Sept. 23, 2006 at 13th and Kentucky Streets. It found Walton guilty of the misdemeanor, vehicular homicide, as requested by the defense.
pullquote
"“We had no evidence that he knew he had hit a person, only that something bad had happened.”
—Robert Dewhirst, lead juror
Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson sought involuntary manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. This charge is a felony that carries a minimum of three years in prison. Walton was not convicted of driving while intoxicated.
“We believe the evidence supports the higher charge,” Branson said. “For that reason we will seek the maximum sentence.”
Walton’s attorney, Tom Bath, said this was not a victory for anyone in the courtroom.
“There is no joy or sense of triumph here for anyone,” Bath said.
Bath said Walton was sad, guilty and remorseful for having taken the life of Kanost and was prepared to take any punishment the jury felt fit for him.
Lead Juror Robert Dewhirst said weighing the testimonies of the eye witnesses were the hardest part.
“There was lots of varying testimonies there,” Dewhirst said. “It was a party night, and obviously everybody there was involved.”
Dewhirst said that they tried to come to their decision based only on the evidence that they had availabele.
“We really tried to keep emotion out of it,” Dewhirst said.
Bath said that the jury did not have the evidence to convict Walton of driving under the influence.
Branson said it is hard to try an alcohol-related case without the blood alcohol results of the suspect.
“You have to judge the behavior all by itself,” Branson said.
The jury had the opportunity to find Walton guilty of leaving an injury accident, leaving a fatality accident or it could have dropped the second charge all together. Again, they chose the lesser of the charges in Walton’s sentencing.
The prosecution could not prove that Walton knew a was death involved, Bath said.
Dewhirst said the same thing.
“We had no evidence that he knew he had hit a person,” Dewhirst said, “only that something bad had happened.”
Dewhirst said the jury worked really hard to tell the difference between involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide. He said they put a lot of value into the testimonies of Walton’s actions after he returned to where his friends were after the accident and the testimonies about whether Kanost was in the crosswalk.
“Walton came in the next morning,” Dewhirst said. “We took that into account too.”
Branson said that the difference in charges meant that Walton would spend his sentence in the county jail rather than in a prison.
Bath said that Walton was a good kid who had never been in trouble before, and he is taking it day by day and trying to go on as best he can.
Kanost’s friends and relatives did not comment and said they felt it would be inappropriate at this time.
Branson said that Kanost’s family is taking in what has happened and will wait for sentencing.
Walton will be sentenced March 24.
— Edited by Katherine Loeck
Witnesses testify in hit-and-run case; jurors meet
Several new witnesses testified in the hit-and-run case, focusing on whether victim ...
Friends of hit-and-run victim testify
Three friends of Ryan Kanost, the KU student who was killed by ...
Rose sentenced to 122 months in Boardwalk ...
Jason Rose was sentenced Monday to 122 months after being convicted last ...
Stricter punishment underway for hit-and-run offenders
State officials and family members of hit-and-run victims are now enforcing a ...
Hit-and-run driver waives rights
Joel Hernandez faces four charges in the death of former KU student.
Hit-and-run driver granted continuance
The man who struck a bicyclist in October will report to court ...
Oread Neighborhood safety in question
Lawrence police try to monitor the area, commonly known as the “student ...
Editorial: Punishment for hit-and-run drivers should be ...
State laws regarding accidents involving pedestrians need to be strengthened.
Man charged in hit-and-run accident
Joel Cedric Hernandez was charged with vehicular homicide in connection to accident ...
Rose guilty of lesser charge
A 12-person jury convicted 21-year old Jason Allen Rose of involuntary manslaughter ...
Guilty verdict in killing of Johnson County ...
The killing followed a dispute between two rival groups of skateboarders in ...
A murder and a mother's story
KU student Shannon Martin was murdered in 2001. But for her mother, ...
Arsonist convicted of two charges
Cosby: Fourth rescheduling of execution date shows ...
Troy Davis' case is clear representation of how flaws in the justice ...
Jurors selected for murder trial
Seven-hour selection process decided the fourteen who will serve as jurors in ...
Former KU student pleads guilty to animal ...
Cem Basoflas, Istanbul sophomore, will remain in custody for 30 days until ...
KU technologist pleads guilty to child pornography ...
19-year University employee may face 11 years in prison for his offenses.
Court date set for apartment fire
Giddens charged with battery
Former soldier receives probation for robbery of ...
Michael Gerald, 21, also charged in the case, received 49 months in ...
Man sentenced in death of KU student
Steven Kyle Cummins gets 41 months for drunken-driving killing of Dimitri Mavridorakis.
Assault victims sent to Topeka hospital
Local hospital did not have qualified nurses available for rape kits.
Hearing scheduled for man involved in U.S. ...
Arkansas man allegedly stole a vehicle on campus and caused fatal wreck ...
the scarlet list
Jonathon Bourgeois doesn’t wear a visible scarlet “A” on his chest as ...
New law targets local retailers
Beginning last week, paraphernalia that may be used for illegal drug use ...
Kansas State fan bus driver improperly licensed ...
The driver of the Cat Tracker fan bus did not have the ...
Former student’s case to be heard
Matthew Jaeger, 26, will appeal his kidnapping conviction next week.
Collins won't face criminal charges
Kansas guard Sherron Collins says he hopes the news will help 'return ...
Former student sentenced for last year's McCollum ...
Kori B. Williams was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation for ...
University law student charged after fatal drunk ...
JD/MBA student Robert Domsch was charged with involuntary manslaughter after driving the ...
United Students candidates fined
Two campaigning violation charges against the coalition were dropped while two resulted ...
Preliminary hearing for fatal accident case postponed
Suspect was charged with stealing a vehicle from Jayhawk Blvd. and causing ...
Former student has not paid restitution
Cem Basoflas, former student from Istanbul Turkey, still owes thousands for animal ...
Care for rape victims inadequate, says DA
Short-staffed Lawrence Memorial Hospital is criticized by Branson for turning away victims ...
Man charged after fatal accident on U.S. ...
The Arkansas man was charged with six felony charges, two misdemeanors and ...
News you need to know
A brief look at news around town
Man wrongly convicted discusses struggle
Daryl Hunt shared his story with students and faculty Tuesday evening.
Cosby: Death to the death penalty
Capital punishment is inhumane and costly.
KU student charged in delivery robbery testifies
Judge hears testimonials of defendants, victims and police in preliminary hearing in ...
Former student pleads guilty to explosives charge
Michael Vanlerberg faces between five and 20 years in prison for exploding ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Jury finds Walton guilty of misdemeanor
He had to know he hit a person or he had to be really really intoxicated. But neither? That makes no sense. What kind of person just keeps on driving and leaves the victim to die??
Jury finds Walton guilty of misdemeanor
The kind of person who should have been found guilty of a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID