Wednesday morning testimony

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By Gwendolynne Larson (Contact)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Topeka man accused of killing Beau Arndt apologized to the Americus teen’s father after the shooting.

Theron Thomas Kent is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Arndt, who was killed Dec. 15, 2007, while hunting with friends in northwest Lyon County. Kent also is charged with attempted unlawful taking of wildlife, hunting without permission and criminal discharge of a firearm in connection to the incident.

On Dec. 19, 2007, the day Kent was interviewed by law enforcement officials, he met with Bob Arndt near a Lyon County cabin where Kent and his own hunting friends had stayed overnight Dec. 14.

“I think his words were, ‘I’m so sorry. I wish it would have been me. I wish I was in that place instead of your son,’” the elder Arndt testified this morning, during the third day of Kent’s trial in Lyon County District Court.

Arndt’s time on the stand was brief compared to some other witnesses this morning, including Lyon County sheriff’s Detective Travis Mishler and Dave Adams, a natural resource officer — or “game warden” — for Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Also taking the stand briefly was Gary Jensen, who owns the land near Roads 310 and D on which Beau Arndt was hunting.

Mishler’s testimony was a continuation from Tuesday afternoon. A key for the state was getting Mishler, as case officer, to identify pieces of evidence so they could be admitted. In succession, he displayed empty shell casings seized from the cabin including one that Kent initialed for investigators, as well as the last clothes Beau Arndt wore — a blue T-shirt, long johns, two pairs of socks, gray fleece sweatshirt, camouflauge pants and jacket and brown boots.

Defense attorney Don Hoffman of Topeka used much of his cross examination to ask Mishler what other leads were followed in the case. An early telephone tip sent Mishler to Council Grove to investigate a man someone said drove a truck like the one authorities issued a public description on.

Mishler determined that the truck in question was unlike the one that Beau Arndt’s hunting partners had described. Another description of the suspect truck came from a woman who helped three men change a flat tire. She could not identify the Council Grove man from a photograph, Mishler testified.

Another lead Mishler said he followed involved an Emporia man who called in the night of the killing and said he’d been hunting in the area. Mishler followed up with that man on Dec. 26, 2008, 11 days after the shooting and seven days after Kent was identified as the main suspect.

Hoffman repeatedly questioned Mishler about why he hadn’t looked closer at the Emporia man and his hunting companion, who had a 25-06 rifle with him on the day of the shooting, a rifle that can fire the same kind of bullet that killed Arndt. Hoffman kept working to convince jurors that authorities quit working the case once they found Kent.

Hoffman continued his tack of deflecting blame when he cross-examined Adams.

“Haven’t you been quoted in newspapers saying there is a problem in this county centering on hunter responsibility and safety and that there have been a number of incidents involving mishandling of firearms?” Hoffman asked Adams.

The defense attorney also questioned Adams about a suspected goose poaching case he heard about shortly after the shooting. Authorities have contended that Kent fired the fatal shot while illegally shooting at the goose decoys in the field with Beau Arndt and his friends.

Kent told authorities he was shooting at a coyote when he fired.

Several references were made this morning to a videotaped interview with Kent at the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office. The estimated hour-long tape has not yet been aired in court.

Testimony resumes at 1:15 p.m. today with Adams still on the witness stand.