A preliminary hearing in an Emporia murder case is set to take place this upcoming summer.
Alexei Perez-Ricardo, age 36 of Emporia, will return to Lyon County District Court on Aug. 28 after his first official court appearance Wednesday. Before the hearing, prosecutors filed a motion for a no-contact order with any endorsed witnesses.
Perez-Ricardo is accused of killing Adolfo Viniegra, age 57, this past weekend. Viniegra and Perez-Ricardo apparently had a confrontation Saturday night, leading to the discovery of Viniegra inside a residence in the 200 block of West 10th early Sunday. Perez-Ricardo has been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated battery.
While the Emporia Police Investigations Division continues looking into the case, Police Capt. Lisa Hayes says there are no apparent connections to other recent high-profile cases that went public over the last month, including federal charges against six people as part of a multi-level drug operation and state charges against eight other people now accused of identity theft and illegal dentistry.
