Justin Pierce was sentenced Friday morning to just under 15 years in prison for the murder last December of Matthew Kelly at a rural home near Ark City.
Judge Christopher Smith sentenced Pierce, 26, to 178 months in a Kansas Dept. of Corrections facility. He would be eligible for a sentence reduction of 15 percent for good behavior.
Pierce had previously entered a plea agreement with prosecutors and was convicted of 2nd-degree intentional murder. He declined an opportunity to address the court prior to sentencing. He appeared in a courtroom at the Cowley County Courthouse in Winfield.
He remains in the custody of the Cowley County Jail.
Prosecutors have said it was Pierce that fired the shot that killed Kelly Dec. 13, 2021 at a home on 302nd Rd. The men had been in an altercation there.
A second defendant, Dylan Weaver, 32, was sentenced to just more than 10 years in prison on a charge of 2nd-degree murder, reckless disregard for human life. Weaver had testified against Pierce in exchange for a lesser charge.
He was sentenced to 123 months. Weaver and Pierce were said to have been involved in a fight with Kelly. The men, according to testimony, had heard that Kelly was threatening to report them to authorities for alleged criminal behavior.
Weaver’s attorney had presented character-related testimony in an effort to secure Weaver a lesser sentence. However, just before sentencing, Weaver addressed the court, apologized to Kelly’s family and asked that Judge Smith give him the full sentence possible and give no consideration to further leniency.
Weaver has repeatedly expressed in court his regret for what happened the day of the crime. Tommy Scott, with the Cowley County Sheriff’s Dept., told the court that information provided by Weaver had been key to securing Pierce’s conviction.
Family of the victim were allowed to address the court prior to sentencing. Weaver remains in the custody of the county jail pending paperwork and subsequent transfer to a KDOC facility.
38-year-old Lisa Wise and 26-year-old Amber Orr were also sentenced Friday. They received prison sentences but will only serve probation as long as they comply with terms set by the court. Wise remains free on bond.
Orr has violated bond and remains back in jail by order of the court. She has also been ordered to enter a drug and alcohol program for 60 days before beginning her probation.
In February, Wise pleaded no contest to aggravated battery, and was convicted of arranging for her brother to be beaten up. Kelly had been living in Wise’s house and the two had been arguing in the weeks before his death.
Orr pleaded no contest for assisting in helping to dispose of Kelly’s body.
Orr
Kelly