A Sedgwick County jury has returned a guilty verdict on 7 of 9 counts in the securities fraud trial of Thomas Etheredge.
The case went to the jury shortly before 4:30 Monday afternoon, after closing arguments were presented. Etheredge was charged with nine counts of securities fraud after his theme park in Park City, Wild West World, went out of business. After months of construction delays and foul weather, the park opened in May of 2007. It folded two months later.
Investors in the park,who were members of Summit Church, later claimed that they had been misled by Etheredge. The church in 2007 was meeting at the Johnny Western Theater on the grounds of Wild West World. The complaining witnesses lost more than a combined $700,000.
The jury deliberated about a day and a half before returning the verdicts shortly after 2 pm Wednesday. The not guilty verdicts involved an investor who had testified that he would have provided money for the theme park in any case, and a member of Etheredge's family who also invested.
District judge Ben Burgess set a date of March 12th for sentencing.
Kansas securities commissioner Chris Biggs was pleased with the verdict, and he praised the jury's work in studying the details of the case. Defense attorney Steve Joseph said he would appeal, and he feels there's a good chance to get a reversal on a couple of points of law. Joseph also said he would ask for a reduced sentence because of Etheredge's health. Etheredge suffered a stroke three months ago, and he also has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.
KFDI Staff