While waiting for a decision on his capital murder appeal in Greenwood County, Scott Cheever has accepted a plea agreement for a case developing out of Leavenworth County.
Cheever, 44, pleaded no contest to attempted trafficking of contraband in a correction facility, in this case a cell phone. The agreement amends the original charge of trafficking a cell phone. Sentencing will be April 29.
Cheever has been in the court process since 2005, when he shot Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels to death near Hilltop while Samuels was leading a drug raid. Cheever was convicted of capital murder in 2007 and was sentenced to death — along with over 700 months in prison for charges including attempted capital murder, manufacturing methamphetamine and conspiracy to manufacture meth.
Cheever’s current appeal is focused on claims of ineffective counsel during the initial trial, including the penalty phase, and his defense says the death sentence should be vacated because of errors during that process. The Kansas Attorney’s Office says Cheever’s appellate attorneys failed to meet the burden of demonstrating both “deficient performance” of the original trial attorneys, as well as any resulting prejudice.
A ruling date on Cheever’s latest capital murder appeal is pending.
