Pleas to amended charges were entered in Lyon County District Court Tuesday morning during what had been scheduled to be a preliminary hearing for five men originally accused of alcohol use and sex crimes committed against a young Lyon County woman.
Christopher M. Wecker, Francisco Martinez, Christopher Delahunt, David Lehnherr all entered pleas of no contest to amended misdemeanor charges; Christopher Eagan pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count.
The original charges had resulted from a 25-page affidavit detailing numerous incidences of alcohol use, sexual activity and, in one case, battery that allegedly took place as various members of the group traveled from house to house during the time when the crimes took place.
Judge Jeffry Larson accepted all of their pleas and found each guilty of the amended charges. Each man will be required to have drug-and-alcohol and background checks before sentencing.
Larson questioned all of the defendants to ensure that they realized they were giving up their rights to jury trials, as well as the opportunity to question prosecution witnesses and to testify on their own behalfs, if they chose to do so. No arrangements discussed by attorneys would be certain if they continued with their plea arrangements.
“I’m not bound by any recommendations made by (the defense attorney) or Mr. Goodman,” Larson cautioned them.
They will retain their rights to appeal the sentences.
“You will always have that right; no one can ever take it away from you,” Larson said during the pleas.
The original and amended charges and the pleas were:
Christopher M. Wecker
Wecker, 21, pleaded no contest to one charge of battery; the remainder of the charges were dismissed with prejudice, which means they will not be re-filed.
Wecker originally had been charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor, conspiracy to rape; or, in the alternative, conspiracy to rape and rape; or, in the alternative, rape and battery.
Wecker’s attorney, Thomas Diehl of Topeka, told Larson that Wecker currently is on probation in Riley County on a battery charge and that he has been charged with several traffic offenses as a result of an accident Saturday night.
Diehl said that Wecker had had a wreck at U.S. Highway 56 and the Kansas Turnpike and had walked home to Allen, arriving at about 5 a.m. He was picked up later in the day and charged with failure to report an accident, having no proof of insurance and other infractions.
The attorney also said that Wecker had voluntarily gone to live in Corner House on a seven-month program and is in counseling and submitting to random urine analyses.
“Mr. Wecker, you’re making Mr. Diehl’s job very difficult,” Larson told the defendant. “You’re not doing very well. Now I admire the fact that you’re in treatment. ...
“You need to be aware that your behavior between now and time of sentencing will have a big impact on what I do with you.”
Larson found him guilty of the charge and set sentencing for 1:15 p.m. Aug. 25. The sentence could be up to a maximum of six months in the Lyon County Jail and a $1,000 fine.
Francisco Martinez
Martinez, 19, pleaded no contest to unlawfully hosting minors consuming alcohol, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a $2,500 fine and one year in jail.
Larson accepted the plea and found Martinez guilty. He set sentencing for 11 a.m. Aug. 20.
Martinez’s attorney, Don C. Krueger, asked Larson to remove certain bond requirements to allow Martinez to be employed in the Kansas City area. Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman, who prosecuted the cases on Tuesday, had no objection to the request, which Larson approved.
Martinez had been released on a $25,000 bond.
Christopher Delahunt
Delahunt, 19, tendered a plea of no contest to furnishing alcohol to a minor, in exchange for the state’s dismissing the balance of the charges.
He originally had been charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor, aggravated sexual battery, conspiracy to rape; or, in the alternative, two counts of conspiracy to rape; or, in the alternative, conspiracy to rape and rape; or, in the alternative, rape.
W. Irving Shaw represented Delahunt.
Larson set sentencing for Delahunt for 11:30 a.m. Aug. 20. Furnishing alcohol to a minor, a Class B misdemeanor, could bring a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to six-months in jail.
David Lehnherr
Lehnherr also pleaded guilty to one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor, with the balance of charges dismissed by the state.
He originally had been charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor, aggravated sexual battery, conspiracy to rape; or, in the alternative, one count each of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy; or, in the alternative, three counts of aggravated criminal sodomy and one count of rape; or, in the alternative, two counts of rape; or, in the alternative, one count of rape.
Lehnherr’s attorney, Frederick L. Meier II, asked for a reduction in bond to make it consistent with bonds of the other defendants.
Meier told Larson that Lehnherr already was under supervision by court services for a juvenile case in Chase County and has been in jail since early April.
Goodman said that, based on the Chase County case, the state did not object to the bond reduction, with the requirement that Lehnherr not be in possession of or consume alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs.
The bond was reduced to $2,500 oral recognizance, with orders to abide by conditions of probation in the Chase County case.
He will be sentenced at 11 a.m. Aug. 25.
Lehnherr had been charged in December 2009 with involuntary manslaughter in Chase County District Court in conjunction with the death of Brittney Marie “Boo” Hajny. An amended complaint charging vehicular homicide was filed later, and Lehnherr pleaded no contest to that charge.
The accident happened when Lehnherr was 17. Brittney, 15, was a passenger in a Toyota 4Runner driven by Lehnherr. The SUV left the roadway, rolled over three times and came to rest on its top on a rural Chase County road on Aug. 14, 2008, according to an earlier report. Four others were injured in the accident, including Lehnherr.
Christopher Eagan
Deviating from the plea arrangements of the other defendants, Eagan, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully hosting minors consuming alcohol, a Class A misdemeanor.
Eagan’s original charges were furnishing alcohol to a minor and conspiracy to rape; or, in the alternative, conspiracy to rape and rape; or, in the alternative, three counts of rape.
Timothy Dupree represented Eagan at the hearing, and asked Larson to change the existing bond to a signature bond to give Eagan the opportunity to be released from the Lyon County Jail, where Dupree said he has been for about two months.
“This is Mr. Eagan’s very first offense. He’s not on probation, never been on probation, never had any problems with the law,” Dupree said.
“His family has all but abandoned him, so there is no one to sign on a bond with him. In fact, his mother came to jail to visit him and basically told him he was a disgrace to the family and she would have nothing else to do with him.”
Dupree said that Eagan understands the importance of returning to court for sentencing.
“Judge, I will let you know that once Mr. Eagan found out there was a warrant for his arrest, he approached two officers at Walmart,” Dupree said, explaining that Eagan told the officers he was wanted and waited for them to check that information with officials.
“He stood there while they did that. Ultimately, they found out he was Mr. Eagan and there was a warrant for him,” Dupree said.
Goodman said that he believed the circumstances of Eagan’s arrest were correct and that if the court were to consider the request for a signature bond, Goodman asked that the requirements include having no contact with others involved in the cases, to have no drugs or alcohol and to submit to random drug testing.
Larson granted the request for a signature bond.
“Your performance between now and when you are sentenced will have a large impact on what your sentence is,” Larson told Eagan.
Sentencing will be at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 25.
kansasprincess7 (anonymous) says...
none of these boys deserve to have any charges droped or reduced! they should all be in jail for a very long time. especially David Lehnherr. If you knew any of these boys you would know what i mean. these boys will not learn they have done it before and they will do it again. david deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison! but all the drugs and alcohol and everything else that boy does will catch up to him some day and he will get the time he deserves.
July 7, 2010 at 4:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Brooke (anonymous) says...
The Gazette should check facts before printing them! Ms. Eagan has tried to hold her son accountable since the day he was adopted, loved and protected and tried to teach him what was correct. If she had indeed abandonded him, she would not be helping with his baby while he has been unable to do so. She is the epitome of grace and love. It is his father that took off and abandoned him.
In addition, the statement that he had never been in trouble was inaccurated. He has been involved in vehicle window smashing and vandelism as a teen not to mention that he and his cohorts literally beat another student in the bathroom while at the middle school. He was such a bully that he was on escort to protect other students. This behavior has followed him through HS and into adulthood.
July 7, 2010 at 4:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jebs (anonymous) says...
Brooke, Thank your for standing up for Ms. Eagan. I have known her family for over 15 years and I know she would never say that. She was present at this hearing. If she had abandoned him she would not have been there. Also, Mr. Eagan has been in trouble before, everything Brooke stated is true.. He also was not in jail for 2 months, it was barely over a month. I am very disappointed in Mr. Dupree for lying to the court. That is completely unethical and you should be ashamed of yourself. I am also disappointed in the Gazette for not checking facts before printing this article.
July 8, 2010 at 12:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Blackshirt (anonymous) says...
You have got to be kidding me! Charged with rape and a laundry list of other charges and they get to plead out to a misdemeanor? Either the investigation was terribly flawed or the prosecution was simply lazy in this case.
July 8, 2010 at 7:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
its called a poor excuse of a person called GOODMAN, what a waste of skin.
and now he is sitting here in the courthouse county commission meeting trying to spent another 16,000 dollars that the county does not have, makes me want to puke
July 8, 2010 at 10:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Blackshirt (anonymous) says...
What's he spending now? If it's diversion funds then it doesn't cost the county anything, if not...
July 8, 2010 at 11:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bottom_Line (anonymous) says...
Anybody know when Judge Larson is up for re-election? That is one election I don't want to miss. Judge Larson you let these boys go. You must not have a daughter.
July 8, 2010 at 6:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Judges are not elected. There is a question on the ballot whether to RETAIN them or not, but I can't remember when a judge was not retained, at least here in Lyon County, or our district court.
July 8, 2010 at 7:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bottom_Line (anonymous) says...
Retain-that was the word I was looking for. Thanks Steve.. I'm wondering who I should be most disappointed with, the Judge, the DA or the sheriffs dept?
July 9, 2010 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
I'm with FarmRaised but will add the girl and all the parents that WERENT involved in their lives enough.
The Judge, it is not his job to make the State's case nor to act as a Defense Attorney. His job is to see that procedures are followed, legislative rules are followed, and that a fair trial is given. It's not his fault the DA's office couldn't put together enough evidence, provide the witnesses etc to get convictions on the original charges.
The DA's office sure seems to like to pull the trigger before considering their target first. This office has operated this way from day one.
The Sheriff's Office took the report, turned in said report and any evidence they could find to Goodman and Co. They did their job. They are not substitutes for parents, they cannot prosecute nor determine what or how cases are filed and handled.
July 9, 2010 at 2:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Emery (anonymous) says...
This is complete bulls**t! I know both Wecker and Sisco and they both deserve to be in jail. They are meth-heads and alcoholics. Seriously getting charged with rape and criminal sodomy, and pleaded down to giving alcohol to minors!?!? Oh but its ok they are doing drug and alcohol treatment. Way to go judge lets keep putting screw ups like this back on the streets!!!
July 9, 2010 at 11:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dominga69 (anonymous) says...
I personally know Cisco, Chris D., and David, and I know these boys are troublemakers, but I also know this girl that accused them of these charges was a complete liar. These boys are bad, but please they do know that rape is wrong, and they know they didn't rape this girl, as we can all see the court system also saw that they did not commit this crime, so to everyone who wishes it happened it didn't so get over it!
July 10, 2010 at 3:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Oh, I see how some people think. Just because you know these " bad boy " criminals or their families, you blame the victim . Just because these bad boys familys' happen to be influential in the county and city, should not mean that they receive preferential treatment, that is not the way fair justice under the law is supposed to work for anyone. After all justice is supposed to be blind to such things as social statis, money, amount of power and influence, etc..
I am not saying the girl has no responsibility in this at all. But what these bad boys did, if they did it, is irreprehensible.
July 10, 2010 at 9:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Meth, their parents had nothing to do with charges being dropped, and no they have zero influence on the county and city. The charges were bogus from the get go.
July 11, 2010 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kansasprincess7 (anonymous) says...
i have no doubt that they raped her, david and chris d. and a few other friends have raped another girl in the past but she never came forward. i knew the girl. and i know all of these boys they deserve to be in jail/prison for a long time and who ever said they were on meth is right and plenty of other drugs and alcahol on a regular baisis. and the alcohol is normally furnished by davids dad bud.
July 12, 2010 at 12:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kansasprincess7 (anonymous) says...
thats true but so sad how many times do they have to do it before something gets done about it??... they have all been in plenty of trouble before and they keep getting put back out there to do it all again..
July 12, 2010 at 4:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sweetdee (anonymous) says...
well clearly kansasprincess does not know them
September 8, 2010 at 7:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Let out on a work release to work in Kansas City ! What the hell kind of deal is that ? A pretty sweet one, I would imagine.
I would say all these " Boys " and I use the term loosly, gat a very sweet deal .
What a crock !
September 8, 2010 at 8:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )