HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Kansas Court of Appeals has vacated the sentence for a Hutchinson man convicted of a home invasion in 2018.
The Court of Appeals sided with the state in the case of Titus Thompson. A jury convicted Thompson of robbery, burglary, and aggravated burglary. He was found not guilty of kidnapping. The district court granted Thompson a downward durational departure sentence from his nearly 13 year sentence and instead sentenced him to just under six years.
The state immediately appealed the sentence arguing that Judge Trish Rose failed to come up with any substantial reason to grant the departure. And the Court of Appeals agreed stating the court should not have been able to find substantial and compelling reason to lower Thompsons sentence while at the same time citing that the reasons to do so are not strong. It also stated that the court failed to articulate reasons why it imposed the reduced sentence.
In October 2018, Thompson and John Sullivan forced their way into Leon Levasseur's home in search of prescription pills.
Thompson then forced Levasseur into the vehicle with him. Levasseur had his dog with him but he feared for its life, so he threw his dog out the car window. Thompson took Levasseur to another location near Burrton where he was able to escape.
The driver of the vehicle, Amanda Gresham was sentenced to 10 years in prison Sullivan’s earliest possible release date is April of 2025.
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