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3 February 2024
SHAWNEE COUNTY (KSNT) – A Shawnee County jury has convicted a man of murder for his role in a deadly a vehicle crash in 2020.
On Friday, Chad Thomas Cuevas, 55, was found guilty of for first degree murder, according to a press release from Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay. Cuevas has been in jail since his arrest in 2020. Sentencing will happen at a later date.
On Feb. 17, 2020, Topeka Police responded to a report of a person hit by a vehicle in the 1500 block of Northwest Tyler Street. Officers arrived to find a man in a field suffering from serious injuries. The victim, later identified as Emerson Duane Downing, later died from those injuries.
A witness was able to give investigators a description of the vehicle that hit Downing. Police eventually located the vehicle and identified Cuevas as the driver.
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay commends the work of the detectives and officers with the Topeka Police Department that worked on this case. He thanked Deputy District Attorney Steve Karrer and Deputy District Attorney Bethany Lee, as well as their trial team for their work in prosecuting this case. Finally, Kagay thanked the jury for their service this week.
Excerpt from the press release