PAWNEE COUNTY – A contested Preliminary Hearing was conducted Friday in the Pawnee County District Court against Michael EG Reynolds, 68 of Larned, in connection with the shooting death of Dr. Tomas Garza, according to Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett.
Senior District Judge Nancy Parrish of Topeka, Kansas, presided over the hearing. Pawnee County District Judge Bruce Gatterman recused himself from the case due to a possible conflict of interest.
Reynolds is charged with one count of Intentional Murder in the Second Degree, one count of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and one count of Criminal Possession of a Firearm.
The charges stem from a joint investigation by the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek into the shooting death of Garza on March 30. Reynolds was taken into custody at the scene without incident at the time of the alleged incident.
Prior to the hearing, Reynolds filed a claim for self-defense immunity from prosecution, commonly referred to as a Stand-Your-Ground immunity. Under Kansas law, a use of deadly force to defend oneself or another requires both the subjective belief that deadly force is necessary as well as an objective showing that “a reasonable person in the defendant’s circumstances would have perceived the use of deadly force as necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to the defendant or a third person.”
Following a full day of testimony, Judge Parrish found the State presented sufficient evidence to support all three charges. Additionally, Judge Parrish found that the State met its burden to overcome the immunity claim finding that based on the evidence presented Reynolds could not have subjectively believed he needed to use deadly force against Dr. Garza, nor would any reasonable person in Reynold’s circumstances perceive that the use of deadly force was necessary.
If convicted of the murder charge, under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines the defendant faces between 147 months and 653 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections depending on his criminal history.
Following the hearing, Judge Parrish denied the request to reduce the bond for Reynolds. He had requested to be released on house arrest. Reynolds is being held in the custody of the Pawnee County Sheriff with bond set at $250,000, according to McNett.