Overland Park murder trial called off; change of plea hearing set
A change of plea hearing has been scheduled for later this week for a 20-year-old man charged in the New Year’s Eve 2014 killing of an Overland Park man.
The trial for DeMario Thompson in Johnson County District Court was scheduled to being Monday, but the case was instead set for a plea hearing Thursday.
Thompson is charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 31, 2014, fatal shooting of Steven Sawyer.
Sawyer, 49, was killed outside his home in the 9200 block of West 83rd Terrace.
Relatives said at the time that Sawyer had gone outside to warm up his car when he encountered a car burglar and was fatally shot.
In addition to first-degree murder, Thompson is charged with auto burglary and illegal possession of a firearm.
Tony Rizzo: 816-234-4435, @trizzkc
This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 8:18 AM with the headline "Overland Park murder trial called off; change of plea hearing set."