A Spickard man pleaded guilty Wednesday to voluntary man-slaughter Wednesday in connection with the death of a man killed in 2002 in Mercer County.
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A Spickard man pleaded guilty Wednesday to voluntary man-slaughter Wednesday in connection with the death of a man killed in 2002 in Mercer County.
According to the St. Joseph News-Press, 41-year-old Randy Kitchen avoided a trial on a charge of second degree murder in connection with the November 2002 shooting death of his neighbor, Matt Crump. By pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, a Class B felony with a penalty of five to 15 years in prison, Kitchen admitted that he used excessive force in killing Crump. Sentencing was set for March 11.
As part of the plea agreement, Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney John Young will withdraw the charge of armed criminal action and tampering with physical evidence. Kitchen was also promised that he will receive a prison sentence of no more than three years for violating the terms of his probation on an earlier drug conviction.
According to the News-Press, Crump admitted the killing, saying that he, Crump and Eric Snitz of Basehor, KS, had been drinking alcohol on the afternoon of Nov. 26, 2002 when they went to Crump?s trailer to get money. Kitchen and Snitz went inside and when they came back out, Crump began fighting with the two men. Kitchen and Snitz then went to Kitchen?s house and locked the doors. Crump, Kitchen said, tried to break into the house with an axe. At that point, Kitchen shot Crump twice.
Snitz called police after the shooting and had been expected to testify in the trial, which was scheduled for Wednesday. Snitz indicated he would have told the jury that Kitchen was justified in shooting Crump.
Following the shooting, three other men, including David Briegel of Spickard and Frederick Farwell and Donald Loomis, both of Kansas City, KS, allegedly burned the body on Briegel?s family farm near Spickard. They have been charged with abandonment of a corpse in Grundy County and tampering with evidence in Mercer County. All three men are also charged with federal firearms violations. A woman, Sondra Pouder, has also been charged with tampering with physical evidence in Mercer County.