TOPEKA – Adam J. Longoria, convicted in Barton County for the August 2010 murder of Great Bend teenager Alicia DeBolt, will again be in court next Wednesday when he appeals his sentence before the Kansas Supreme Court in Topeka.
Longoria, now 40, was found guilty of DeBolt’s death in April 2012 and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in June of that year. However, according to the high court’s docket released Thursday, he is appealing that ruling.
According to the docket, “issues on review are whether defendant’s 6th Amendment right to an impartial jury was violated when the trial court refused to change venue; whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of felony murder, in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of reckless second-degree murder, in admitting a portrait photograph of (Alicia DeBolt) where such photograph was irrelevant to the case, in admitting video of defendant being taken into custody at gunpoint, and in failing to declare a mistrial when juror misconduct made it impossible to proceed with trial; whether defendant’s right to a fair trial was violated by prosecutorial misconduct in closing argument; and whether there was sufficient evidence of capital murder because there was no evidence of the charged sexual conduct.”
According to Kansas Supreme Court Public Information Director Lisa Taylor, the oral arguments are before the entire Supreme Court, which consists of seven justices. It is impossible to predict how soon after oral arguments the court will issue its decision since this depends on many factors, including the complexity of the case and the issues raised.
The Longoria case is the third appeal on the list for Wednesday at the Kansas Judicial Center in downtown Topeka across from the Statehouse. The day opens at 9 a.m.
Judge Michael Malone, a recently retired judge from the Douglas County District Court, will sit with the court next week  – and on future dockets until Judge Caleb Stegall is sworn in to replace Justice Nancy Moritz.
DeBolt disappeared the night of Aug. 21, 2010, just days before she was to start classes at Great Bend High School.
The 14-year-old girl’s charred remains were found three days later at an asphalt plant near Dundee where Longoria had worked. Longoria was also found guilty of criminal sodomy, aggravated criminal sodomy, attempted rape and vehicular burglary and theft in his jury trial.
Although he was convicted of capital murder, the state did not seek the death penalty. Under state sentencing guidelines, Longoria could only be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office handled the prosecution.
Longoria was originally incarcerated at the Eldorado Correctional Facility in Eldorado. But, he is now housed at Lancing Correctional Facility in Lancing.