Wichita police arrest drive-by shooting suspects within minutes of shots being fired

Two suspects in a Thursday afternoon drive-by shooting in south Wichita were arrested within minutes of an officer hearing them open fire, police said.

A police officer patrolling his beat heard the gunfire at around 1:25 p.m. in the area of the 3100 block of South Davidson, WPD spokesman Officer Charley Davidson said in a news release. That’s near the southwest edge of Planeview Park.

The officer then found a 28-year-old man, who reported that people inside a gold Ford Taurus shot at his home. Davidson said police found gunshot damage to the house and to two vehicles, and shell casings were found in the street.

The man was not hurt, and neither were his 34-year-old girlfriend and their 12-year-old daughter, who were also home at the time of the shooting.

Arriving officers circulated the area and found the suspect vehicle near Pawnee and Oliver, Davidson said. A traffic stop led to two arrests, and police found shell casings and a handgun inside the vehicle.

Davidson told The Eagle that the arrests were made within minutes of the shooting.

Police arrested 23-year-old John Devonte Tatum on suspicion of three counts of aggravated assault drive-by, felon in possession of a firearm, discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling and vandalism. Officers also arrested 22-year-old Elijah James Branstetter on suspicion of three counts of aggravated assault drive-by, discharge a firearm into an occupied dwelling, vandalism and traffic violations.

Both suspects are from Wichita and are being held in the Sedgwick County Jail without bond.

Police said the incident was not random and that Branstetter and the 28-year-old man at the home know each other.

Tatum has prior felony convictions of aggravated robbery and theft, Kansas Department of Corrections records show. He is listed as being under intensive supervision through community corrections.

This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 4:59 PM.