A Parsons man received just over eight years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and drug distribution.
Raymond A.A. Rigazio, 29, was charged in Labette County District Court with first-degree murder, or felony murder, and distribution of 25 grams of marijuana or less. The murder charge was an off-grid crime that could have resulted in life in prison upon conviction.
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case. Robert Myers represented Rigazio.
Rigazio pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter, a mid-level felony. The plea acknowledged that on June 20, 2018, Rigazio killed Tyjuan M. Campbell, 21, during the commission of a “lawful act in an unlawful manner in Labette County, Kansas.” He also pleaded no contest to aggravated assault, a lower-level felony, for placing Campbell in “reasonable apprehension of immediate bodily harm with the intent to commit a felony.” As part of the plea, Rigazio agreed to serve a controlling five years in prison without trying to appeal or file other legal actions related to the sentence. He also agreed to “provide a truthful proffer, under oath, about the facts and circumstances known to the defendant about the death of Tyjuan Campbell on June 20, 2018, after the plea is entered and prior to sentencing.” There was no proof that Rigazio complied with this term of the plea.
Rigazio also faced 42 months in prison in a separate case for drug distribution. That term will be consecutive to the involuntary manslaughter term, giving him about 8.5 years to serve, minus the time he’s spent in jail while his cases were pending.
The drug case related to a Jan. 2, 2018, law enforcement search at 1318 S. 26th, which is across a field from 2612 Kimball, when officers found 11.14 pounds of marijuana, five pounds of it packaged in vacuum- sealed bags and the rest in Mason jars. Police also seized a .40 caliber handgun with numerous rounds of ammo. He was to be sentenced in that case in February 2023 but didn’t show up for court.
This week, District Judge Fred W. Johnson sentenced Rigazio to the controlling term of 8.5 years in prison in the two cases. Five years of that was for manslaughter with a concurrent prison term for the aggravated assault. Rigazio also received credit for nearly a year spent in custody.
Campbell’s mother and father spoke at the sentencing hearing.
Margaret Jaramillo, Campbell’s mother, said they wanted a longer prison term for Rigazio and didn’t agree with the plea agreement.
She said she spoke about fighting with her faith not to hate Rigazio. But she wanted Rigazio to think about her son daily and hoped that Rigazio first thought every day was Campbell and that he wouldn’t sleep at night without her son popping into his thoughts. She hoped Rigazio would have a long life so he could keep Campbell in his thoughts.
Campbell was shot and killed between 5 and 5:27 p.m. on Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at 2612 Kimball. Police found Campbell dead in a Mendota Creek apartment. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation responded to assist Parsons police.
