Not guilty plea in alleged hate crime killing of Indian man at Olathe bar

The defendant in the alleged hate crime killing at an Olathe bar was arraigned Thursday after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing.

Adam Purinton is charged in Johnson County District with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla in February at Austins Bar & Grill.

Purinton, 52, is also charged in Johnson County with two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding two other men.

On Thursday, Purinton waived his preliminary hearing, which had been scheduled for mid-January.

His attorney, Chief Public Defender Michael McCulloch, then entered not guilty pleas on his behalf.

His next hearing in Johnson County is scheduled for May 8.

Purinton is also facing hate crime charges in federal court.

Federal prosecutors allege that Kuchibhotla and another Indian man, Alok Madasani, were targeted by Purinton because of their race or ethnicity. Madasani survived the shooting.

The third man, Ian Grillot, shot in the incident went to the aid of Kuchibhotla and Madasani, who both worked as engineers for Garmin.

This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Not guilty plea in alleged hate crime killing of Indian man at Olathe bar."