Ex-model arrested again while facing charges in alleged kicking of Wichita toddler
The former fashion model released from jail after an incident where a 1-year-old boy was allegedly kicked to the floor of a Wichita store has been arrested again, this time in a drug-possession case, jail records show.
Trace Adam Riff, 31, was booked into jail at 4 a.m. Thursday on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and was being held on a $2,500 bond, Sedgwick County Jail records show. By Thursday afternoon, his bond had been raised to $50,000.
According to a police report from his new arrest, someone forced open a door to an apartment in the 1000 block of North Market early Thursday morning. Riff was found inside with meth, the report says.
A neighbor, Marvin Francis, told The Eagle later Thursday that he noticed that the door to the second-floor apartment had been kicked in, so he called police. The unit had been vacant, Francis said. After police arrived, he could hear officers “very loudly” telling someone inside to get up. He saw officers escorting away a man with longish hair and in handcuffs.
Police had originally arrested Riff on Dec. 23 after bystanders tackled him after he allegedly kicked an African-American toddler in the back, causing the boy to fall to the floor of the Dillons grocery store at Douglas and Hillside. Witnesses and police said the suspect also hurled racial slurs, including the “N word” and said he was a white supremacist. The NAACP has said the incident should be fully prosecuted and constitutes a hate crime. Riff was released from jail within hours of the store incident.
Told of his new arrest, Lashantai Whitaker, the mother of the toddler, said Thursday: “They shouldn’t have let him out in the first place. He needs to be in a placement, for his issues. He shouldn’t be walking the streets.”
So far, Riff is facing minor charges in the store incident, but the District Attorney’s Office also is reviewing the case to determine if he could face more serious charges.
When Riff was around 18, he had a career as a male fashion model working in New York City and abroad for major fashion designers.
Riff, who moved from the Oklahoma City area to Wichita, has been homeless for years, his family says. They also say he has struggled with substance abuse and mental health problems.
He has a criminal record including meth possession, assaulting an officer, domestic abuse and DUIs.
This story was originally published January 3, 2019 at 10:41 AM.
