Las Vegas hitman gets nearly 70 years in Wichita murder plot foiled by wrong ammo
A Las Vegas hitman whose plan to kill two Wichita men was botched when his handgun misfired because it was loaded with the wrong ammunition has been ordered to spend nearly 70 years in prison, according to a news release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say Cardell L. Turner, 52, drove up next to two men in the 2500 block of South Greenwood on Aug. 14, 2018, pointed a handgun at them and pulled the trigger several times. But the gun didn’t go off because it was full of the wrong ammo, foiling the murder attempt.
Turner, who lived in Las Vegas, was hired by another man to travel from Nevada to Wichita to kill someone who lived on the street where the attempt took place, according to evidence presented at his trial last summer. Court records say Turner “sat off” a home on South Greenwood, “watched the victims, and then drove by and fired” at them.
A jury convicted Turner of attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder last year. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 837 months in prison — 69 3/4 years — by Sedgwick County District Judge Bruce Brown, the DA’s news release said.
Turner has a number of prior felony convictions in California including for murder, robbery, assault with a firearm and drug-related offenses, court records show. He also has pending methamphetamine and cocaine possession charges in Sedgwick County.
The man who allegedly hired Turner to carry out the killings is currently imprisoned in another state, the DA’s Office said.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 1:54 PM.
