Last two defendants in KC businessman’s 2010 killing receive probation

A Jackson County judge on Friday ordered the last two defendants in the 2010 murder of Kansas City businessman Michael Tutera to each serve five years of probation.

If either man violates terms of his probation, he will have to serve five years in prison.

Jackson County Circuit Court Judge W. Brent Powell also sentenced Michael Dear and Joel Thomas to 200 hours of community service and mandated that both cooperate with prosecutors in any future court actions related to the killing.

Both Dear and Thomas apologized for their roles in the shooting death of Tutera, 49, during a robbery of his home.

“It’s the most regretful thing I have ever done in my life,” Dear said. “I am truly sorry.”

Thomas said he was “terribly ashamed” of his participation and that he was “very sorry for all the pain that I’ve caused.”

Joseph Tutera, the victim’s brother, testified that he felt Dear and Thomas “voluntarily participated” in the shooting’s planning. Their involvement, he said, was “not about being at the wrong place at the wrong time” and therefore “the court should not reward those who participated ... with a slap on the wrist.”

The two defendants, Tutera added, “have not paid their debt to society, and they should not be allowed to do so in the comfort of their homes.”

But the defendants’ continued cooperation was an important consideration in his sentences, Powell said during a 40-minute sentencing hearing at the downtown Jackson County Courthouse.

“I see it every day,” he said. “We can’t solve cases because we can’t get cooperation.”

Thomas and Dear, assistant Jackson County prosecutor Michael Hunt said Friday, both had “cooperated fully with the state.”

Police found Michael Tutera’s body inside his home in a gated enclave just south of the Country Club Plaza about 1 a.m. on May 27, 2010. Tutera was a member of a Kansas City family prominent in real estate, development and health care management.

Initially, prosecutors charged Dear and Thomas with second-degree murder. In July, both pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary, and both made statements regarding their roles in exchange for the reduced charges, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors made a similar agreement with another defendant, Robert Frazier, who pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary in 2013. In January, he received a 12-year prison sentence.

In 2012, Troy Davis pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for two consecutive 10-year sentences. Brothers Matthew and Joseph Hendrix pleaded guilty to murder and received sentences of 25 and 14 years, respectively.

Attorney John P. O’Connor, representing Dear, said his client had been “remorseful since the day he came into my office.”

Carl Cornwell, representing Thomas, noted how his client had “grown up” since the incident.

At the hearing’s conclusion, Powell noted that some in the audience might be “disappointed” but added that he would keep the Tutera family in his thoughts and prayers.

The family had no comment on Powell’s rulings, said Mark Untersee, a lawyer representing the family.

This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Last two defendants in KC businessman’s 2010 killing receive probation."