Freddie Thomas was back in Barton County District Court Tuesday morning for sentencing.
A Barton County jury convicted Thomas of Voluntary Manslaughter in June following a seven-day jury trial. Sentencing was originally set in August but continued at the request of the State of Kansas for additional time to review the defendant’s motion for probation.
Thomas had no prior criminal history and was assigned the lowest possible criminal history score in the Kansas sentencing grid.
For a severity level 3 felony offense, and the lowest criminal history score, Thomas’s presumed statutory sentence called for 59 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections and that he serve the sentence without first getting probation.
Thomas was convicted of shooting and killing Jeremy Saldana on Sept. 11, 2015. Thomas claimed self-defense after the altercation in the front yard of a Great Bend residence. District Court Judge Ron Svaty, who has since retired, ruled in Thomas' favor.
The case was appealed, where the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled the case should proceed to a jury trial. The jury was in favor of a conviction of one count of voluntary manslaughter on June 23, 2022.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, Thomas, through his attorney, Donald E. Anderson, filed a motion with the court asking that Thomas be granted probation instead of prison. After hearing the arguments of counsel on the request for probation, District Court Judge Carey Hipp denied Thomas’ request for probation and ordered him to serve 59 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections.