DOUGLAS COUNTY- Two Kansas men are going to prison for a fatal 2021 shooting in Lawrence.
Andrel Spates Jr. 22, Lawrence was sentenced to 17 years and two months in the Kansas Department of Corrections and Javier Romero, 22, Lawrence was sentenced to six years and three month, according to Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez.
They were sentenced in connection with the shooting death of 21-year-old Christian Willis, of Wichita.
Spates pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and Romero pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January 2024.
Charges stem from an incident that occurred in the 1500 block of Kentucky Street in Lawrence on September 8, 2021 during a drug transaction. Police in Lawrence arrested Romero days after the crime. U.S. Marshals tracked Spates to Tennessee and arrested him the following month.
A Douglas County judge ordered that both must serve 36 months of post-release supervision and said they both must also register as violent offenders for 15 years.