Kansas man pleads guilty to causing crash that killed officer, pedestrian and K-9 last February

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas man has pleaded guilty to ramming into a patrol car in Kansas City, Missouri last year and killing an officer, his K-9 partner and a pedestrian.

Jerron Lightfoot of Tonganoxie, Kansas, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter and admitted to running a red light before the crash, according to the Kansas City Star. Officer James Muhlbauer, 42, Jesse Eckes, 52, and Champ the dog were all killed.

Lightfoot told the judge he got lost that night last February while driving back to Kansas.

Prosecutors have said Lightfoot was traveling at least 80 miles per hour just before the collision.

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend no more than 10 years in prison, although Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Whiston said she expected Lightfoot’s attorneys would ask for a much more lenient sentence if the 20-year-old is in April returns to court. .

Muhlbauer, married and a father, was a 20-year veteran of the force. Champ had been a police K-9 for a year.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves attended Friday’s plea hearing along with several uniformed police officers, but she did not comment on the case