One of five teenage suspects charged in a 2022 killing of a man in downtown Shawnee has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Fernando Reyes-Lara, 19, pleaded guilty to three felony charges last week for his role in the shooting death of Jarod Rogers in November 2022.
The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office says Reyes-Lara pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder and two counts of aggravated robbery stemming from the November 30, 2022, shooting, which prosecutors say resulted from a drug deal.
Reyes-Lara is scheduled for sentencing on March 20.
Prosecutors allege that Reyes-Lara and the four 17-year-olds arranged to meet Rogers to buy marijuana with the intention of robbing him.
Rogers was found with a gunshot wound to the head in a parking lot behind a business in the 11000 block of Johnson Drive.
He was rushed by ambulance to an area hospital, where he died two days later.
All four of the 17-year-olds are now 18 and remain in custody.
One of the teens has been sentenced as a juvenile, and two others have pending juvenile cases.
The fourth 17-year-old, Kyleigh Guzman, now 18, has been charged as an adult.
She has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of use of a communication facility for allegedly arranging the meeting with Rogers.
Guzman is scheduled to make her next court appearance on February 23.
Mike Frizzell is a freelance crime and fire reporter who runs Operation 100 News.
