Drunk Wichita man says he used pole near DCF for target practice before cop shot him

A drunk man who was shot by a cop in Wichita after first shooting in the direction of officers — and a Department for Children and Families building — was sentenced to probation after the charge he was convicted of was declared unconstitutional.

Richard James Gore, 64, of Wichita, was sentenced last month to two years of probation after pleading guilty to several misdemeanor gun crimes. The convictions stem from an officer-involved shooting on Nov. 27, 2018, in a creek area behind the Department for Children and Families building at 2601 S. Oliver.

Law enforcement officials said Gore was shooting in the direction of the DCF building and later shot in the direction of police officers before a sheriff’s deputy shot him. Gore denied shooting at the cops or the government building and said he was using a nearby utility pole for target practice.

“I am regretful for my poor choice to target practice at the utility pole and am very apologetic and remorseful for any disturbance caused,” Gore said. “I believe my poor choices were the result of mixing alcohol with my prescribed medications.”

Gore’s conviction and sentencing come after the charge to which he previously pleaded guilty was ruled unconstitutional in unrelated Kansas Supreme Court cases.

Gore had pleaded guilty in September to aggravated criminal threat, a felony. He had originally been charged with five counts of aggravated assault on an officer, criminal discharge of a firearm and aggravated criminal threat. Those were dropped in a plea agreement.

At the time, District Attorney Marc Bennett said, “Specific consideration was given to the defendant’s level of intoxication and ensuring suitable accountability for the criminal events.”

Gore had faced as much as 11 years and four months in prison and a fine of up to $300,000, court documents show, though prosecutors said they would recommend probation as long as he complied with his plea deal. That included not being on DCF property or going to the nearby creek area where the shooting occurred.

Gore’s public defender later motioned to withdraw the plea after the Kansas Supreme Court decided in October in a pair of unrelated cases — State v. Boettger and State v. Johnson — that the reckless theory of criminal threat in state statutes violated the First Amendment’s free speech protections and was unconstitutional.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has since asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the rulings, which state that a suspect must intend to cause fear in a victim for a threat to be a crime.

Gore then pleaded guilty on Jan. 27 in Sedgwick County District Court to seven misdemeanors: six counts of criminal discharge of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm while under the influence. He was sentenced to two years of probation with an underlying 18 months in jail.

As part of his new plea deal, Gore admitted that he was laying on the embankment by the creek, shooting in the direction of the DCF building and drinking from a flask or similar container that contained alcohol. The trajectory of the bullets included a major street and a residential neighborhood.

A Wichita police officer who was working off-duty at the DCF office first asked dispatchers about shots being fired in the area just before 3 p.m., a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office detective wrote in an affidavit detailing the events. The DCF building, which had more than 300 people inside at the time, was locked down.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Justin Maxfield was about 175 yards away with a rifle when he saw Gore shoot a handgun in the direction of the DCF building. Gore then turned toward three Wichita police officers, an Eastborough officer and the sheriff’s deputy with his gun raised and fired in their direction, according to the affidavit.

Maxfield “decided to neutralize the threat of the gunfire” and was “fearing now for his safety and the safety of the other law enforcement officers,” the affidavit states. Maxfield shot Gore once.

Court records state that Gore now has a scar on his shoulder from a gunshot wound.

Sheriff Jeff Easter said he had “no question on this particular use of force” and that the deputy would return to duty once he underwent a psychiatric evaluation.

Gore was taken to Wesley Medical Center after he was shot and taken into custody, according to the narrative in his plea agreement. Medical professionals determined his blood alcohol level was 0.25, or more than three times the legal limit to drive, and he also had prescription medications in his system.

Gore told officers that he was using the utility pole “for target practice, as he was concerned that he was being targeted by others who wanted to harm him,” the plea deal states.

Less than half of the bullets fired by Gore hit their target, according to the detective’s affidavit. Forensic investigators found 19 .40 caliber shell casings in the area where Gore was shooting. The pole near the DCF building had seven bullet strikes. There was no evidence that the DCF building was hit by any of the gunfire.

This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 10:14 PM.