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At 16, Kamaronte Jones pleaded guilty to shooting a gun at a house.

At 17, he was charged with shooting a man, just a little older than he.

At 18, he now stands convicted of first-degree murder.

A Sedgwick County jury reached a guilty verdict just before noon today, convicting Jones of first-degree premeditated murder in the shooting death of Keith "Fritter" Peters Jr. during a party last August. He also was convicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jones faces life in prison when he returns for sentencing Aug. 29 before Sedgwick County District Judge Ben Burgess.

A suburban Kansas City man was found guilty Thursday of the videotaped sexual torture and slaying of a 41-year-old woman.

Richard D. Davis, 44, of Independence, was found guilty of 25 counts, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, rape, sodomy, and assault in attacks on Marsha Spicer of Independence and Michelle Huff-Ricci, 36. The murder charge was for Spicer's May 2006 death.

Davis, who showed no emotion as the verdict was read, was acquitted on one count of first-degree assault related to the attack on Huff-Ricci. Her charred remains were found in neighboring Clay County, where Davis and his girlfriend, Dena Riley, are charged with capital murder for her April 2006 suffocation.

Riley also is scheduled to go to trial next year in Spicer's killing.

Jurors, who deliberated for less than four hours Thursday, will now determine whether Davis will face the death penalty. The sentencing portion of the trial is scheduled to begin this morning.

With five seats on the State Board of Education up for grabs this year, education advocates say how children learn about evolution hangs in the balance -- and who voters choose could affect Kansas' national reputation.

A frequent flip-flop between moderate and conservative majorities on the 10-member board has resulted in the state changing its science standards four times in the past eight years.

Conservatives have pushed for standards casting doubt on evolution, and moderates have said intelligent design does not belong in the science classroom.

In 2007, a new 6-4 moderate majority removed standards that called evolution into question.

This year, none of the three moderates whose seats are up for election are running again. Only one of the two conservative incumbents is running for re-election.

The two candidates with the biggest campaign coffers in Sedgwick County said they were surprised that their primary race for judge is at the top.

"I thought the sheriff's race would raise more money than a judicial race," said Sean Corrigan McEnulty.

"I had no idea what to expect," said Bruce Brown, an appointed Wichita Municipal Court judge running in his first election for District Court.

The two Republican primary contenders have raised more than $80,000 between them and spent more than $70,000. That's more than any other county race.

The primary winner will run against Democrat Sharon Dickgrafe for the Division 10 seat in the November general election. Dickgrafe has only spent about $7,200 of the slightly more than $22,000 she's raised so far.