Holiday Inn sniper Michael Soles up for parole again this summer

The man who carried out a mass shooting from atop a downtown Wichita high-rise more than 40 years ago is up for parole for the fifth time.

Michael Soles, known in Wichita as the Holiday Inn sniper, was a teenager when the rode an elevator to the hotel that capped the 26-floor Garvey building on Aug. 11, 1976, with two rifles and a lunch pail of bullets, stepped out onto a balcony and opened fire. He picked off pedestrians and motorists below, killing three and wounding several others in just 11 minutes.

Mark Falen, a 23-year-old loan officer; Joe Goulart, a 56-year-old freelance photographer; and Elmer Hensley, a 57-year-old glass worker died. Soles’ spree ended when police shot him.

Soles, now 59, is one of 26 parole-eligible inmates who could get out of prison as early as July 1 if his latest bid for release is granted. He was also up for parole in 1991, 1994, 1997 and 2007, according to The Eagle’s news archives.

The Kansas Prisoner Review Board, which grants their bids for release, will take comments from the public on his and other cases at three hearings around the state later this month. They are from 10 a.m. to noon May 17 at the Derby police and courts building, 229 N. Baltimore; from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. May 19 at the Topeka municipal courthouse, 214 S.E. Eighth St.; and from 10 a.m. to noon May 22 at City Hall, 1 McDowell Plaza in Kansas City.

The public can also submit written comments. Those can be faxed, e-mailed, submitted online or sent via postal mail to the board. Instructions and comments forms are available at www.doc.ks.gov/prb/public-comment-sessions/comment.

After taking public comments, the three-member board will hold formal parole hearings for Soles and the other inmates at the prisons then make a decision. When considering parole requests, the board looks at factors such as victim and public input, the nature and seriousness of the crime, prison capacity, an inmate’s criminal record and performance in prison.

Soles received a life sentence for the shootings, but state law at the time ensured he received his first parole hearing after 15 years. His crimes, if committed today, would be death-eligible.

Currently, he is housed at El Dorado Correctional Facility’s south unit in Oswego, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. He is listed as a low-medium custody inmate.

The other inmates on the Kansas Department of Corrections’ May public comment offender list are: Tyrone J. Long, Charles E. Butts, Morris E. Corter Jr., Brion S. Foster, Donald F. Reynolds Jr., Paul D. Moses, Ivran Newcom, Bryan M. Grover, George E. Rainey, Michael E. Smith, Raymond L. Voth, Mark W. Zimmerman, Juan Borrego Jr., Richard C. Cooper, Jerry W. Hammonds, Brian Charles Lionberg, Michael Douglas Peterson, Shawn Robert Watkins, Gregory B. Baacke, Andre D. Jackson, Albert Orin Plunkett, Shawn Sands, Charles E. Smith, Sharon K. Carr and Brilon S. Jones.

This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Holiday Inn sniper Michael Soles up for parole again this summer."