photo by: Nick Krug

Defendant Danny W. Queen talks with his counsel during his pretrial hearing before district court Judge Peggy Kittel on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. Queen is charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the June 24, 2017, shooting death of Bo Hopson, 32, of Eudora, outside D-Dubs Bar and Grill in Eudora.

Eudora homicide victim Bo Hopson’s description of the shooting that ultimately led to his death can be recounted at his accused killer’s trial, by a friend Hopson talked to from his hospital bed, a judge ruled Friday.

Under the law, Hopson’s statements weren’t dying declarations because Hopson didn’t know his death was imminent — after coming through two early surgeries successfully, he thought he was going to make it.

Rather, Douglas County District Court Judge Peggy Kittel approved prosecutors’ motion to allow those statements under an exception to another rule that usually bars hearsay at trial.

Hopson’s statements to Summer Mayberry were nontestimonial in nature, “a conversation between two friends,” Kittel said.

A jury trial for murder defendant Danny W. Queen, 36, of Eudora is scheduled to begin April 2.

The shooting that killed Hopson, 32, of Eudora, happened shortly after 1 a.m. June 24, 2017, outside D-Dubs Bar and Grill, 10 W. Ninth St. in Eudora. The injured Hopson was taken to the University of Kansas hospital, where he died on June 25 after a complication during a medical procedure.

Queen is charged with one count of first-degree murder in Hopson’s death and two counts of attempted first-degree murder for allegedly pointing his gun at two other men and pulling the trigger, though the gun reportedly misfired.

At Queen’s preliminary hearing, eyewitnesses to the shooting identified him in the courtroom as the shooter, and police said the entire incident was captured on video camera. 

photo by: Nick Krug

D-Dubs Bar and Grill is located at 10 W. Ninth St. in Eudora.

Queen had been asked to leave the bar after making lewd comments to women, then got in a fight with other bargoers on the way out, witnesses testified at his preliminary hearing. Queen was lying down on a trailer parked outside the bar when he pulled a gun from his pocket and started shooting, witnesses said.

Prosecutor Amy McGowan said Friday that Queen had rejected a plea offer that would downgrade his first-degree murder charge — which carries a penalty of 50 years in prison before eligibility for parole — to a charge of second-degree murder. Under the offer, the state would have recommended a controlling sentence of close to 26 years, she said.

With the trial date near, Kittel said that if a counter-offer was going to be presented by defense attorneys it would need to happen quickly.

Queen confirmed to the judge that he had rejected the plea offer and said he understood the process and timeline.

At Friday’s status conference, attorneys also discussed what could be asked during the jury selection process, specifically how much attorneys could delve into potential jurors’ military service.

Queen is a U.S. Army veteran who spent five years stationed in Germany and then another eight years stationed at Fort Riley, one of his appointed defense attorneys, Dakota Loomis, said.

The judge and attorneys agreed that questioning should be limited to ensuring no jurors knew Queen previously from those locations, rather than in-depth discussions about jurors’ opinions of veterans.

Queen remains jailed on $1 million bond.