On Thursday, June 23, a Barton County jury convicted Freddie Alec Thomas of one count of Voluntary Manslaughter for the Sept. 11, 2015 shooting death of Jeremy Saldana.
Jury selection began on June 14 and the State presented evidence over four days, the defense presented evidence, including the testimony of the Defendant, on June 21.
The jury heard closing arguments on June 22 and began deliberations just before 2 p.m. At approximately 1 p.m. on Thursday, the jury informed the Court they had reached a verdict.
The State of Kansas had originally charged Thomas with First Degree Murder but requested jury instructions on the lesser included offenses of Second Degree Murder and Voluntary Manslaughter. Thomas asserted that the 2015 killing was permitted under Kansas’s self-defense statute.
BACKGROUND
At approximately 8:40 p.m. on Friday, September 11, 2015 the Defendant, Freddie Thomas, fatally shot Jeremy Saldana three times with a Ruger SR9.
Thomas was arrested on scene and charged with First Degree Murder on September 16, 2015. Thomas was bound over for trial following the preliminary hearing on April 21, 2016.
On June 8, 2016, now-retired District Court Judge Ron Svaty granted Thomas immunity from prosecution and dismissed the State’s complaint. The State of Kansas filed an appeal.
On December 8, 2017 the Kansas Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion reversing the grant of immunity. The defendant then filed a petition for review with the Kansas Supreme Court. The Defendant’s petition for review was granted.
In July 2020, the Kansas Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals and sent the case back for a rehearing. In November 2020, District Court Judge Carey Hipp denied the defendant’s immunity request and set the matter for jury trial.
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Following the guilty verdict, Barton County Attorney Levi Morris asked that the defendant’s bond be revoked and that he be remanded to the Barton County jail pending sentencing. After an objection, Judge Hipp remanded him to jail with a $50,000 bond and bond conditions including electronic monitoring and turning over his passports.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
With this conviction, the Defendant is required to register in Kansas as a violent offender.