Man pleads guilty in murder of on-duty AutoZone employee at Wichita store
The Wichita man charged with gunning down an on-duty AutoZone employee nearly two years ago pleaded guilty last week to one count of second-degree intentional murder and three counts of attempted aggravated robbery, according to Sedgwick County District Court records.
Lamontae D. Lucas, 20, will be sentenced July 22 by Judge David Kaufman. He’s facing 147 to 653 months in prison for murder and 31 to 136 months on each attempted robbery count, his June 9 plea agreement says. But his actual sentence will likely fall on the lower end of that range because most punishments depend largely on a defendant’s prior criminal history, which prosecutors think is minimal in this case.
Lucas fatally shot 40-year-old Nicholas “Nick” Blue of Wichita in the head around 9 p.m. on July 26, 2020, at the AutoZone at 910 S. Oliver during what authorities think was a botched robbery attempt while the store was open. Police arrested Lucas two days later, after issuing a public plea for help identifying the shooter from a surveillance photo that showed him masked and wearing a distinctive stars-and-stripes hoodie and long pants despite the summer heat.
In an interview with The Eagle after Blue’s murder, relatives decried the killing as senseless and described him as a “great guy” with a “heart of gold” who dreamed of pursuing a career in criminal justice.
Police have said Lucas, then 18, walked into the store, shot Blue with a handgun and ran off, leaving him to die.
Lucas’ guilty plea came just days before he was scheduled for a June 13 jury trial, court records show. He previously pleaded not guilty to a count of first-degree intentional murder.
