Drug deal gone bad led to fatal laundromat shooting, police say

Authorities have officially identified a 15-year-old boy who was killed and one of two suspects in a shooting at a southeast Wichita laundromat on Thursday.

Jimmy Shopteese died after being taken to a Wichita hospital after the shooting, said Lt. Jason Stephens of the Wichita Police Department. He said it appeared to be a drug deal that went bad.

Darien L. Freeman, 24, of Wichita was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on counts of first degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm in relation to the case, according to arrest records.

A 15-year-old boy was also booked on a murder charge, though he has not been identified because he is a juvenile.

According to police: Shopteese and a 13-year-old boy were approached in the parking lot of the Lost Sock II Laundromat at 1902 E. Pawnee at around 1:45 a.m. on Thursday by a trio of males, one of whom fired a shot at Shopteese.

The 13-year-old and Shopteese then ran for help to a Burger King across the street. Detectives learned that the two boys had arranged to meet people they knew at a parking lot in the 1900 block of East Pawnee.

After they arrived, a 24-year-old man pulled a handgun and shot Shopteese once in the back, the department said in a statement sent last week. On Monday, Stephens said that it appeared the meeting revolved around a marijuana deal.

The boy who was with Shopteese said the 24-year-old man and his two companions arrived at the meeting in a silver or gray colored car, Stephens said. Police are still looking for the third person in the car, Stephens said.

Freeman was arrested on drug and criminal possession of a firearm charges in 2014 and was released from the Sedgwick County Jail on July 25, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records.

The homicide represents the 30th of the year in Wichita. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the police department at 316-268-4407 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.

This story was originally published November 28, 2016 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Drug deal gone bad led to fatal laundromat shooting, police say."