11-year-old murder case ends with plea to a lesser murder count

Rather than go through a third jury trial, a man who was earlier was twice convicted of first-degree murder, pleaded "no contest" on Tuesday to intentional second-degree murder in the shooting death of another man in a bar fight in 2008.

James Arthur Qualls III, 34, has served almost 11 years in Kansas prisons since he was arrested and first convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Joseph Beier at the Whiplash Bar on July 16, 2008.

Qualls will receive credit for all time served when he was twice convicted of first-degree murder. Also, 15 percent of good time could be subtracted from the sentence imposed on the second-degree murder plea.

It appears Qualls could serve roughly another 18 months before he is eligible to be released from prison.

According to a criminal history investigation in 2013, Qualls has a criminal history of two or more misdemeanor convictions, said Charles Kitt, chief of staff of the Shawnee County District Attorney's Office.

The standard sentence for the second-degree murder conviction for someone with that criminal history would be 176 months, which is 14 years and eight months.

Qualls was twice convicted in Shawnee County District Court of first-degree murder, and the Kansas Supreme Court twice overturned the convictions.

Qualls has contended he acted in self defense in the shooting death of Beier because Qualls thought Beier was reaching for a gun.

On April 19, 2019, the Supreme Court sent the Qualls case back to Shawnee County to be tried again.

In June during a hearing, an assistant district attorney told District Court Judge Cheryl Rios that prosecutors and the defense attorney were negotiating whether to resolve the case with a plea by Qualls.

In the second trial in 2015, a jury found Qualls guilty of first-degree murder, and Qualls was sentenced to a ‘Hard 25’ life sentence. In the trial, the judge denied his request that the jury receive an instruction for self-defense because Beier’s actions would not lead a reasonable person to believe they had no option but to fire the number of times he fired.

The Supreme court justices determined jurors should have been allowed to consider self-defense, stating Qualls testimony had met both the subjective and objective standards for presenting such a defense.

The shooting was the outgrowth of a dispute over a pool shot in the bar and escalated into a fight between Qualls and Beier. Other men pulled the two combatants apart, and Qualls pulled a semiautomatic pistol and fired multiple times, Kitt said in court. Qualls thought Beier was reaching for a gun.

The shooting at the bar occurred about 1:47 a.m. on July 16, 2008, and Qualls fled the scene with others in a vehicle.

Beier was pronounced dead at 3:45 a.m. on July 16, 2008. Beier was struck by between nine and 12 bullets, Kitt said, but some bullets may have exited Beier's body and re-entered his body. Beier was unarmed at the time of the shooting, Kitt said.

There is sufficient evidence to support the plea on Tuesday, Kitt said.

Qualls, who was represented by Topeka defense attorney Gary Conwell, will be sentenced on Aug. 1.