4 The Independent - The Herald
December 1, 2016D
Lawyers for shooting suspect unsure about plea Judge pushes attorneys for Kevin Lyons and prosecution to make decisions in case BY KYLE HARDING KHARDING@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Judge Carlos Samour Jr. expressed frustration at the slow pace of the case of a Centennial man facing murder and attempted murder charges in an April shooting. Attorneys for Kevin Lyons, who is suspected of killing a well-known Centennial doctor, said at a Nov. 21 hearing they are not yet ready to inform the court what type of plea he will enter. The prosecution also isn’t ready to say whether the death penalty will be sought.
Lyons is accused of killing his neighbor, Kenneth Atkinson, and shooting his wife, Elizabeth Lyons, and neighbor Laurie Juergens — and of shooting at two other neighbors and two Arapahoe County Sheriff ’s deputies. Elizabeth Lyons told police her husband had been acting erratically in the days leading up to the shooting and that he shot Lyons her after she suggested he seek mental health treatment at a hospital. Police and prosecutors allege Kevin Lyons then shot Atkinson and Juergens outside while they were trying to help his wife escape. In June, Lyons was ruled competent to stand trial following an evaluation at Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo. He could still enter a not guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea, but public defender James Karbach said
“We really sincerely don’t know what plea we’re going to enter, and I mean that,” James Karbach, Public defender the defense is still determining how to plead. “We really sincerely don’t know what plea we’re going to enter, and I mean that,” Karbach told Samour at a Nov. 21 hearing. Samour had wanted Karbach to advise the court of his plans and hold an arraignment on Dec. 9. Karbach said he may not know Lyons’ plea until January. He said there are many records to review to determine whether an insanity plea is appropriate, and said a person contracted by the defense to
review those had been unable to do so. Chief Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Oldham said the office is waiting on mitigation information from the defense before determining whether to seek the death penalty. Samour set a status conference hearing for Dec. 9. He said he hopes the defense will know the plea and that the prosecution will have a death penalty decision by then. “Unless these decisions get made,” he said, “this case is not going to move.”
Driver accused of killing two women expected to plead guilty Taden Jones’ plea date postponed to Jan. 6 BY BY STEPHANIE MASON SMASON@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Taden Jones, a 2015 Arapahoe High School graduate accused of causing a car crash in Centennial that killed two women, is expected to enter a guilty plea at a Jan. 6 hearing, his attorney, Suzanne Rodgers, said. At the Nov. 18 arraignment, visiting Judge Ken Plotz scheduled a disposition hearing for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 6 at Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial. “The only thing we did today was postpone pleading guilty,” Jones Rodgers said after the hearing. “We are working out some particulars of that guilty plea … It will be clear on that date that he will be taking responsibility for what happened.” Jones, 18, will most likely not be sentenced on that date, Rodgers said. Jones — whose eight charges include two counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving and driving SEE JONES, P10