By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

A 26-year-old man entered an Alford plea for aggravated battery and one count of criminal threat Wednesday in Ellis County District Court in connection with the death of another man during a fight in 2016.

Derrick Allen Smith, 26, formerly of Oklahoma, pled guilty to three counts of aggravated battery (a level seven person felony) and one count of criminal threat (a level nine person felony) in the 2016 death of Timothy Isaiah Walker, 33.

Under the plea agreement, Smith agreed to serve a total of 61 months, or just more than 5 years in prison.

According to court documents, Smith was originally charged with second degree murder following the June 30, 2016, death of Walker, also a former Oklahoma resident.

Smith and Walker, who were both living in Hays on a temporary basis at the time, allegedly got into a fight just after 11 p.m. June 30 in the 500 block of East 20th. During the fight, the state alleged Smith struck Walker, knocking him to the ground unconscious. Smith then continued striking Walker while he was lying on the ground, prosecutors said.

Officials also said Smith left Walker on the ground for more than 10 minutes before checking on him. He was unresponsive when emergency personnel arrived on scene and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

District Judge Glen Braun explained to Smith on Wednesday that under the Alford plea, Smith is pleading to four charges that the state might not be able to convict him of in order to avoid being convicted of the original charge of second degree murder, which carries a minimum sentence of 12.5 years.

In Kansas, a person convicted of aggravated battery they can be sentenced to 11 to 34 months and a fine of $100,000. Felony criminal threat carries a sentence of five to 17 months and a $100,000 fine.

Sentencing for Smith will be scheduled at a later date.