Officer saw woman fire shot at ground before standoff, discovery of body, police say
Wichita police say a woman suspected of killing a man whose body was discovered after an armed standoff this weekend fired a gunshot at the ground in front of an officer before she walked into the south Wichita home where the homicide occurred.
Jessica Whitney Sanders, 22, of Wichita was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail at 6:44 p.m. Sunday on suspicion of second-degree murder, police and booking records show. Police have not released the homicide victim’s name.
Police spokesman Officer Charley Davidson said in an emailed news release that an officer found Sanders walking in the area of Orme and Market on Sunday afternoon, sometime after a nearby convenience store called authorities to report her trying to steal items. Police responded to the theft call at the QuikTrip in the 700 block of South Broadway around 12:20 p.m.
Davidson said when the officer neared Sanders as he was in his vehicle, he saw her “fire a single shot into the ground from a handgun.”
“The officer identified himself and gave her verbal instructions to stop. Sanders ignored the officer and continued to walk away from him, walking into a home in the 800 block of South Market,” Davidson said in an emailed news release.
“As officers worked to contact Sanders inside the home, they observed an adult male inside the home deceased with a gunshot wound to his upper body.”
Investigators were still trying to determine who the man was on Monday morning.
Sanders was arrested after a multi-hour standoff where authorities used “time, distance, and communication” to convince her to leave the home. The Wichita Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics — or SWAT — team was on site.
Davidson said Sanders fatally shot the man once before the standoff started. He said during the investigation, she “continually exhibited very erratic behavior, possibly induced by the use of illegal narcotics.”
The shooting was not random, Davidson said without giving further details. He said Sanders was an acquaintance of the victim but didn’t say how exactly they knew one another.
“The investigation is ongoing, and the case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office,” Davidson said.
The man’s killing is the 18th homicide in Wichita this year.
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 10:17 AM.
