Charges expected against man Wichita police say fired at officers

Charges are expected later this week stemming from a weekend incident that saw a man fire several shots at police officers on multiple occasions as he attempted to avoid capture following a shooting in a west Wichita convenience store.

The incident erupted after an argument shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday between two men at a convenience store at 10409 W. Maple, Wichita police Lt. Todd Ojile said. That’s on the corner of Maple and Maize Road.

The dispute escalated to an exchange of gunfire, according to a police report on the incident. A 35-year-old man fired several shots from a BB gun and a 28-year-old man fired back with a real gun inside the store.

The older man was hit in the arm and ran to a nearby liquor store, Ojile said. Witnesses called 911 and gave a vehicle description as the younger man drove away from the scene.

Officers recognized that vehicle as it exited I-235 at Central and a chase began, Ojile said. During the chase, the driver fired shots at the officers in the area of Eighth and Hoover. The bullets missed the patrol car but struck a house that had two young girls, ages 2 and 5, inside. They were not injured.

As the chase continued, the driver fired more shots at officers at Eighth and Flora, Ojile said. The driver lost control of his car in the 5200 block of West 13th Street. The car spun out and crashed.

All three people inside the car climbed out and began running, he said. The driver turned and fired several more shots at the officers, with one of the bullets hitting the light bar atop a patrol car.

None of the officers was hit by gunfire and none of them returned fire at the suspect, Ojile said. The driver was caught in the backyard of a house in a cul-de-sac. A 34-year-old woman was found hiding in a window well and the second man in the car was also found in a backyard.

Officers found several handguns, ammunition and drugs in the car that crashed, Ojile said.

“The driver fired all the shots at the officers,” he said.

The second man in the car was also arrested, but the woman was not.

The 28-year-old driver has an extensive criminal history, records show, including a conviction for aggravated robbery he committed on July 27, 2004.

This story was originally published September 8, 2014 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Charges expected against man Wichita police say fired at officers."