Suspect in fatal shooting is brother of victim, authorities say

A Wichita man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his brother and wounding another man near Valley Center on Sunday.

Lt. Lin Dehning of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that Michael L. Phillips, 36, was arrested and booked Sunday afternoon on suspicion of first-degree murder and three additional battery or assault charges.

Phillips’ brother, 22-year-old James L. Rotramel, was pronounced dead shortly after the shooting was reported early Sunday. A second man, Kristopher Hooper, 20, was taken to a Wichita hospital with a gunshot wound.

A call about a shooting came in just after 3 a.m. Sunday at a house in the 8300 block of North 94th Street West, which is a few miles west of Valley Center.

Rotramel was pronounced dead at about 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to Dehning. Phillips was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail shortly after 2 p.m., according to a jail booking log.

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 8:59 AM with the headline "Suspect in fatal shooting is brother of victim, authorities say."