Preliminary hearing set in alleged hate crime killing at Olathe bar

A January preliminary hearing was set Friday in the alleged hate crime killing at an Olathe bar.

Adam Purinton is charged in Johnson County District Court with first-degree murder in the February killing of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old Garmin engineer from India who was in the country on a work visa.

Purinton, 52, is also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder for allegedly shooting two other men in the incident at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe.

The preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 16 and 17.

At the hearing, prosecutors will publicly present evidence and testimony in the case for the first time.

Purinton is also charged in federal court, where prosecutors allege that Kuchibhotla and a co-worker were targeted because of their “actual and perceived race, color, religion and national origin.”

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Preliminary hearing set in alleged hate crime killing at Olathe bar."