More details given in arrest of third and final suspect in fatal shooting, police say

The third suspect in a Wichita murder case has been arrested and charged after a manhunt, law enforcement and court records show.

Jesse James Sweeney, 28, was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail at around 7:57 p.m. on Thursday. Inmate records show he is being held on a warrant alleging aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault, as well as charges of failure to appear and failure to apply in separate cases. Sweeney was wanted in connection to the fatal April 23 shooting of Blake Mayes, which happened roughly two miles away from where Sweeney was arrested.

Sweeney made his first appearance in court on the felony charges Friday afternoon, according to court records and the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office. His bond was set at $250,000. He is due back in court on May 7.

Sweeney’s court-appointed defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.

Authorities say Sweeney was captured after a resident called police at around 4 p.m. on Thursday and reported seeing him at an apartment complex in the 200 block of North Topeka, near First and Broadway.

“Upon arrival, officers attempted to contact Sweeney at an apartment, and he fled out a window onto the fire escape and onto a separate floor of the apartments,” Officer Charley Davidson said in a news release. “(Wichita police) covered off the area, located Sweeney, and arrested him without further incident.”

Police have said Sweeney was one of three suspects in the shooting death of Blake Mayes. The other two suspects — Bobbie Williams-Cox, 36, and William Moore, 51 — were previously captured and have already appeared in Sedgwick County District Court.

Williams-Cox was charged with second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. Moore was charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

Williams-Cox was the girlfriend of Blake Mayes.

Police were first called at around 7:10 p.m. April 23 to a shooting at a home in the 200 block of North Charles, near Douglas and Meridian. Officers found Mayes, who had a gunshot wound, on the front porch. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Sweeney has served time in prison on drug convictions from Pratt County, Kansas Department of Corrections records show. His most recent sentence ended in January.

Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker of The Wichita Eagle

This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 9:03 PM.