Daniel Olivarez was set to have trial start next week on numerous charges, including aggravated kidnapping, aggravated residential burglary, aggravated indecent liberties and aggravated witness intimidation. Instead, sentencing is now in mid-December on a much shorter list of charges after a plea agreement announced Friday in Lyon County District Court.
Olivarez accepted an Alford plea on one count of aggravated indecent liberties, meaning he maintains his innocence while realizing there is enough evidence to convict on that count. Olivarez also pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated kidnapping.
Olivarez headed into a motion decision Tuesday and a trial status hearing Wednesday facing 14 total counts for two general sets of crimes. The kidnapping and assault counts are connected to an incident in early January, where Olivarez held several people inside an Emporia home at gunpoint, having one of the alleged victims drive him to another location and then forcing a better than three-hour standoff before surrendering to local authorities. The indecent liberties count involves illegal sexual activity against a then-10-year-old child between April 2023 and December 2023.
Sentencing is Dec. 17. Olivarez has to register as a sex offender.
