Wichita police arrest man suspected in parking lot shooting near Keeper of the Plains
Wichita police have arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of shooting a 19-year-old and stealing jewelry from him early Thursday morning near the Keeper of the Plains.
Larry Darnell Triplett III of Wichita was arrested Thursday evening during a traffic stop along the Kansas Turnpike near Cassoday. Wichita police, in a news release, said Triplett, the 19-year-old man and a friend were in a parking lot in the 900 block of West Central, just north of the Keeper statute, when they started fighting and Triplett pulled a gun.
“Triplett pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots, striking the victim and a silver Chrysler 200 vehicle belonging to the victim’s friend,” police spokesman Officer Kevin Wheeler wrote in the news release. “Triplett then took property from the victim and fled with the other individuals.”
“This was not a random incident,” Wheeler added, without giving specifics about what led to the fight. Officers responded to a shooting call at the address around 12:50 a.m. Thursday.
The 19-year-old, who police say was robbed of jewelry during the ordeal, was hospitalized in serious condition. Police found several shell casings at the scene.
Police are asking anyone with video or photos of the shooting to share them with investigators at https://wichitapd.evidence.com/axon/citizen/public/20c038118. If you have information you can also call Wichita police detectives at 316-268-4407 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.
Triplett was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on Thursday evening on suspicion of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and on a Sedgwick County warrant, police said. Court records show he’s currently awaiting a preliminary hearing on a series of other charges including first-degree murder for the July 15, 2017, shooting death of Timothy J. Golden, a 19-year-old semi-pro football player who was gunned down in his apartment at 550 S. Laclede.
Triplett posted bail and was released from jail on those charges earlier this year, according to court records.
Another man, Ritchie D. Randle Jr. of Wichita, is already serving a life sentence in connection with Golden’s killing. Randle was sentenced in 2018.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 9:37 AM.
