Wichita man sentenced for murdering 19-year-old who tried to steal $450 worth of marijuana
A Sedgwick County judge on Friday ordered a Wichita man to serve nine years, three months in prison for killing a 19-year-old during a botched drug deal last summer.
Authorities have said Brian Lee Youngman shot Donovan Graves of Wichita in the head outside of 5205 S. Clifton on July 11, 2022, after Graves pulled a gun to rob a then 17-year-old girl of a quarter-pound of marijuana. According to his Jan. 4 plea agreement, Youngman had asked the girl “to help him find someone to purchase a small quantity of marijuana that he had for sale,” so she contacted Graves through social media and arranged the deal, for $450.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has said two women — Lanita Baugh and Myrashia Griffin — drove Graves to Youngman’s home for the transaction. The deal turned deadly when Youngman shot Graves during the robbery attempt, authorities have said.
Youngman’s plea agreement says the men didn’t know one another and Youngman and the girl “were not aware that Graves had a history of committing robberies.” They didn’t know Graves had planned to rob them that night, the agreement says.
Graves was found dead in a car at the QuikTrip gas station at 47th Street South and Hydraulic.
Youngman was convicted of one count of second-degree reckless murder through an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to maintain innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors have enough evidence to potentially win a conviction.
Sedgwick County District Judge Jeffrey Goering imposed Youngman’s sentence on Friday morning, said Dan Dillon, a spokesman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
Youngman’s co-defendants are awaiting resolution of their cases:
Baugh, 19, is facing a possible prison sentence of nearly eight years when she is sentenced March 16. She pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and attempted robbery in separate cases on Jan. 27, court records show.
Griffin, 20, is expected to receive a year of probation when she is sentenced March 16 on one count of attempted robbery, according to her Jan. 23 plea agreement.
The girl whom Graves allegedly pulled the gun on, Nancy Miller, is charged as an adult with first-degree felony murder and marijuana distribution. She is due in Sedgwick County District Court again on March 14, when she’s expected to enter a plea, a note in court records shows.
Miller is currently 18. She was initially charged in juvenile court because she was 17 when Graves was killed, but prosecutors sought successfully in January to move the case to adult court. The Eagle typically does not identify minors charged with crimes by name unless they are charged as adults.
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 6:48 PM.
