HAYS, Kan. - One of four people who was charged in the 2003 death of a Fort Hays State University student wants to withdraw his no contest plea, saying testimony at the trial of another defendant exonerates him.
Luis Llamas pleaded no contest in July 2004 to a single count of voluntary manslaughter in the beating death of Clint Johnson, 18, of Healy, and was sentenced to seven years and five months in prison.
Johnson was hurt during a fight and in the parking lot of an apartment complex north of campus during the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2003. He died two days later.
Llamas, initially identified as having swung the bat that reportedly injured Johnson, was one of four people charged. He claims that testimony offered during the trial of Jaime Lopez, who was ultimately acquitted of second-degree murder, proves his innocence.
"The forensic evidence established that the decedent was not struck in the head by a baseball bat," his attorney, Mike Holland, wrote in a three-page motion. "And decedent's death was not caused by a blow to the head but rather his death was caused by the back of decedent's head striking the pavement. Therefore the defendant is innocent."
In the motion, Llamas also claims he had relied on ineffective legal counsel who said he could not receive a fair trial because he is Hispanic.
On Friday, Ellis County District Judge Ed Bouker scheduled a Sept. 28 hearing for the motion.
The two other people charged in Johnson's death also made plea deals and did not go to trial.
Associated Press
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