Man guilty of murdering high school friend in Shawnee

Eddie Lamar Thomas Jr., 26, has been found guilty of murder by a Johnson County jury an in the death of a high school acquaintance at his Shawnee apartment.

The jury found Thomas of Kansas City, Kan., guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of 22-year-old Chris Dotson in August 2010.

Dotson was last seen alive on Aug. 22, 2010, when he left work for the evening. He died later that night after posting a Facebook entry.

A few days later, Dotson’s mother found his body when she went to his apartment in the Prairie Lakes Apartment complex in the 6700 block of Lackman Road because he hadn’t shown up for work.

Investigators said Dotson and Thomas knew each other in high school and had recently reconnected.