by Mary Rupert
The killer of Detective Brad Lancaster received a life without parole sentence this morning in Wyandotte County District Court.
Curtis R. Ayers of Tonganoxie, Kansas, also received sentences of more than 490 months for nine other charges today. Ayers pleaded guilty to the charges, and some of the sentences will run consecutively. By pleading guilty to capital murder, he avoided the death penalty. Seven sentences will run consecutively, the judge said, while two sentences, for aggravated burglary, will run concurrently.
Ayers shot Detective Lancaster outside the Hollywood Casino on May 9, 2016, while Ayers was stealing a car.
The courtroom was packed with law enforcement officers and family members today.
Upon sentencing, the judge said that he thought an appropriate sentence might have been for Ayers to spend every waking moment feeling the same loss as Detective Lancaster’s family and friends; however, that sentence was not in his power to give.
Ayers did not make a statement at sentencing.
A Kansas City, Kansas, deputy police chief, Mike York, said Lancaster’s family, friends and the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department were forever changed the day he was killed.
“Detective Lancaster will never be forgotten by the Police Department; he is our hero,” he said.
“God is the one he (Ayers) has to answer to,” stated a letter from Lancaster’s mother. “Brad was tragically taken, but no one can take our memories,” she wrote. She also wrote that the family agreed with the decision to make the plea agreement.
The case was difficult for police and the district attorney’s office.
It’s very difficult when someone you know is doing everything in their power in law enforcement, and is a victim of the mega-foolishness of someone else, District Attorney Mark Dupree said.
Authorities discussed the importance of stopping bad behavior before it gets to a deadly level.
Dupree said it is very important for the community to speak up; they can speak up before a crime is committed and call the police. He said if someone had spoken up in advance that there was a person roaming the streets with guns and drugs, it might have been prevented.
“Don’t wait until they go to take a life, call the police now,” Dupree said.
The reality is that Ayers is going to prison for the rest of his life, he said, which affects his family as well as the others in the case.
“Nobody benefits from silence, nobody,” Dupree said.
Deputy Police Chief Tyrone Garner agreed, saying that neighbors need to speak up in an effort to keep people safe. If they don’t speak up today, they may be the next victim.