David Smith cut a plea deal with Jackson County prosecutors, and the family of the man he admitted to killing is not happy.
Smith, 30, was charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing his
roommate, 29-year-old Brandon Stevens, in January 2009. Smith was also accused of burning
down a Waldo-area house near 77th and Grand to hide the evidence. But on Monday, Smith cut a plea deal and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter just before his trial (he was sentenced to 10 years). That has angered Stevens' family.
Brandon Stevens' brother Jeff told KCTV5 that prosecutors told his family two weeks ago that a witness had disappeared and another witness wasn't very credible. Prosecutors were considering a plea deal that would put Smith away for 15 to 20 years. The Stevens family didn't want to deal.
"It was an open and shut case, even without witnesses, I believe," Jeff
Stevens told KCTV5. "I feel we've already taken two years, lets go for
it."
Prosecutors apparently weren't willing to roll the dice. Ten minutes before Monday's court date, the Stevens family found out about the 10-year deal (Smith pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter, second-degree arson and armed criminal action and he gets 10 years, with credit for the two years he's already served). Smith could be out in about six years, according to KCTV5.
"We were dumbfounded," Stevens told the TV station. "It was a kick. Kick
to the gut. We know it's a matter of time before it happens again, and
they had a chance to do something about it."
Hard to argue with the Stevens family and knowing that Smith was arrested in January 2009 while driving Stevens' sports-utility vehicle.
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