TOPEKA, Kan. – After District Judge Trish Rose made a ruling in the civil case for a 25-year-old Hutchinson man convicted of attempted manufacture of methamphetamine and attempted 2nd degree murder, the state appealed that decision and Friday the decision of Judge Trish Rose was reversed.
Paul Stotts had argued is his civil filing that he has ineffective counsel before and during trial and at the appellate level, while the state argues there’s no basis for either.
His main argument was never being told by his attorney of a plea offer from the state that would have reduced his sentence to 162-months. Judge Trish Rose agreed with the defendant and ordered the state again offer a plea agreement to Stotts. But, the Kansas Court of Appeals Friday disagreed with the ruling of Judge Rose. They say the Sotts in his civil filing failed to demonstrate a reasonable probability that he would have accepted the plea offer at the time if was offered. Had he accepted, it might have given him about 13 and a half years in prison.
As it stands now, Stotts is serving roughly 25-years after being convicted of attempted 2nd degree murder for crashing his vehicle into another, badly injuring the other driver. The state says it was intentional, while Stotts maintains it was an accident. He was also found guilty of having items consistent with a meth lab inside his vehicle, two counts of aggravated battery, and several counts of flee and elude. The case has to do with the 24-minute high speed chase through both South Hutchinson and Hutchinson which ultimately ended with the crash on K-61 back on March 26, 2007.