A Douglas County jury today found Joshua Walton, 25, Lawrence, guilty of misdemeanor vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident in the 2006 death of Kansas University student Ryan Kanost, 22.

Prosecutors sought a conviction on the more serious charge of felony involuntary manslaughter. The jury deliberated for 11 hours between Friday and today, taking the weekend off.

The felony charge carried a sentence of 38 months to 172 months in prison. The maximum penalty on the misdemeanor conviction is 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Jurors spent last week listening to testimony about how Kanost was struck by a northbound car while crossing Kentucky Street at 13th Street. Kanost was with friends in the early-morning hours of Sept. 23, 2006, when Walton hit him. Walton then drove off and met friends, telling them he believed he struck something but didn’t know what it was.

When he reported to police the next day, Walton had told officers he thought he might have picked up someone else’s drink at a bar by mistake “because he blacked out, went into a delusional rage” and then drove himself home although he didn’t remember anything about the drive, a police officer testified.