HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 57-year-old man’s attempt to withdraw his no contest pleas a second time in two cases failed Monday when District Judge Tim Chambers denied his motion.
William Runyon had entered the pleas a second time to charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated battery in the first case and felony flee and elude in a second. He cited ineffective counsel from Public Defender Kelly Driscoll as his reason for wanting to withdraw the pleas. As the trial was about to begin, they learned that two people involved in the Salina part of this case were endorsed as state witnesses. Thomas Beatty and Chivon Leon were both arrested in Salina after the victim was able to escape from the vehicle there.
Runyon took the stand during the hearing Monday and claimed that he was told by Driscoll that he would lose the case if Leon testified, saying that her testimony would be damaging. He says he was talked into entering the plea agreement. He told the court that he never wanted to enter a plea, even though he did so twice. Driscoll also took the stand and denied she ever said they would lose the case and that she talked with the state over the plea offer at his urging.
In the end, Judge Chambers denied his request and also ordered him to serve 10 years in prison, which is more than what both the state and the defense were recommending.
Runyon was convicted of kidnapping and beating a man who considered him a friend. The victim went for a ride with Runyon and they ended up near a field on east G, east of Hutchinson, where he was beaten, then taken to Salina. He was again beaten in Salina and placed in the trunk of a vehicle there, but managed to escape and call police. That was back on Sept. 19, 2013.
In the other case, Runyon was convicted of felony flee and elude, which involved sheriff investigators looking for Runyon over the kidnapping incident. They spotted him at a local home and he led law enforcement on a chase around the city on Oct. 10 of last year. The chase ended when he fled the truck he was in near the scene of a fatal fire and was captured by Hutchinson Police Detectives.