Parole denied for deputy’s killer

The man who gunned down Sedgwick County sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Willems on Mother’s Day in 1991 has been denied parole.

Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman Adam Pfannenstiel said the Prisoner Review Board refused to grant Fred Deavers Jr.’s bid for release because of the seriousness, violent nature and circumstances of the crime and due to objections from the community. He was among inmates eligible for release this month if approved by the board.

Deavers, 67, is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder for shooting Willems execution-style during a May 12, 1991, traffic stop in Wichita.

His original sentence, life without parole eligibility for 40 years, was thrown out on appeal because a prosecutor working on his case forgot to hand Deavers a legal document during his arraignment. His new sentence gave him parole eligibility after serving 15 years in prison.

At a public comments session in February, current Sheriff Jeff Easter told the Prisoner Review Board that Deavers “should not be allowed to get parole. Period.”

Deavers will be up for parole again in three years, Pfannenstiel said. He also was denied release in 2006 and 2009, he said.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Parole denied for deputy’s killer."