Woman who was with Fla. murder suspect still at large, police say

A woman who was with a man wanted for murder in Florida is still at large, according to Wichita police.

Wichita police Lt. Todd Ojile said a 27-year-old woman who was with a man wanted by Jacksonville, Fla., authorities on a second-degree murder charge was driving a two-door Honda that crashed into a house Wednesday afternoon. They fled when federal agents confronted the man outside a house in the 1000 block of South Ellis, near Lincoln and Hydraulic.

Ojile said the woman was living at the house, but said police were unaware if the man was also living at the house.

“He does have ties to Wichita,” Ojile said. “How long he’s been here or why he’s here, we don’t know.”

While attempting to escape, the man, who has yet to be identified by police, shot at U.S. marshals and ATF agents who had been watching the house, Ojile said. A marshal returned fire, but neither the man or any of the federal agents were hit by gunfire, which broke out shortly after noon Wednesday.

With the woman at the wheel, the Honda traveled several blocks north before crashing into a house in the 600 block of South Ellis. Before running off in opposite directions, Ojile said, the man pointed his handgun at a woman who had come out onto the porch of the home.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m., the man shot himself in the head, Ojile said, in an alley just west of the 400 block of South Hydraulic as officers closed in. The man was taken to Via Christi Hospital St. Francis in critical condition.

“At no time during this did any member of the Wichita Police Department fire any rounds,” Ojile said. “There was also not an active chase when the vehicle crashed into the residence (in the 600 block of South Ellis).”

The woman is not considered to be dangerous, Ojile said, and was not involved in the Florida murder.

According to a tweet sent Wednesday from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, a suspect in a Sept. 5, 2015, murder in Jacksonville was involved in an “incident” in Wichita. The sheriff’s office also tweeted on Wednesday that it would not release the suspect’s name because the case was an “ongoing investigation.”

Wichita police were called to assist on the case at 12:23 p.m. on Wednesday, shortly before the man shot himself. A Via Christi spokeswoman said Thursday morning that she could not offer any update on the man’s condition or if he was still at the hospital.

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Woman who was with Fla. murder suspect still at large, police say."