Notorious criminal is headed back to prison for another long stay

A man whose brutality shocked Kansas City more than 30 years ago will be returning to prison for another long stay, a Jackson County judge decided Friday.

Gary D. Lovelady, 50, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stabbing a friend in the arm in an April 2014 brawl over the victim’s wife.

In a bench trial in December, Jackson County Circuit Judge Sandra C. Midkiff found Lovelady guilty of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

Lovelady previously was convicted in the 1982 robbery and assault of a 76-year-old cancer patient, whose finger he hacked off to steal her rings.

The victim, Katherine Davidson, died before Lovelady pleaded guilty. He testified then that he threw the finger away after the robbery, which he committed to get money for drugs.

He spent much of the next 30 years in prison and was released in November 2012.

In his most recent case, Lovelady stabbed the victim and threw him to the ground and cut his hands as they fought over a knife. A homeless man came to the victim’s aid and knocked the knife away.

The two men continued to struggle, but the victim fought off Lovelady and neighbors called police.

The victim told police officers that he had known Lovelady as a child and had let Lovelady stay at his home after his release from prison.

This story was originally published February 6, 2015 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Notorious criminal is headed back to prison for another long stay."