One defendant guilty in LHS grad’s murder
Kansas City, Mo. ? One of two men charged in the shooting death of a former Lawrence man was found guilty this week of second-degree murder.
Antonio E. Smith, 18, Kansas City, will be sentenced March 21 in the death of Derek A. Orchard, 37, of Overland Park. During a trial in Jackson County Circuit Court, a jury also found Smith guilty of two counts of armed criminal action and first-degree robbery.
Also charged in Orchard’s murder is Lamar D. Quarles, 18, Kansas City. His trial is set for September, Jackson County prosecutor Michael Hunt said.
Orchard graduated from Lawrence High School in 1988. He worked in marketing in the Kansas City area while living in Overland Park with his wife and three children.
Orchard’s body was found last May in a Kansas City park at 107th Street and Skiles Avenue. Hunt said Smith and Quarles took Orchard to the park, robbed him, killed him and took off with Orchard’s car.
Smith and Quarles were arrested when police stopped them in Orchard’s car.







