Wichita man arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, police say

A 22-year-old Wichita parolee has been arrested in connection with Tuesday morning’s fatal shooting near downtown, police said.

Christian Lee Wohlford was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated assault and on a state warrant, records show. Lt. Christian Cory said Wohlford was arrested in connection with the killing of 42-year-old Jeremy Hutchens of Wichita who was found shot in the upper body and unresponsive early Tuesday.

He died at the scene.

The shooting was reported in the 500 block of North Edwards, near Central and Meridian, but Hutchens was found in a white Nissan Xterra one-tenth of a mile away at 2700 block of West Newell.

“The investigation revealed that Hutchens met Wohlford in the 2700 block of West Newell Street to make a property transaction,” Cory said. “While he was seated in the Xterra a disturbance occurred between the two and Wolhford shot Hutchens. He also shot at the 28-year-old female in the vehicle, but she was not injured. This was not a random incident.”

Wohlford was arrested during a traffic stop Tuesday morning at South Washington and East Luther, Cory said. Police records show he was arrested at around 8:18 a.m.

According to Kansas Department of Corrections records, Wohlford was sentenced in 2017 for three counts of burglary and three counts of theft. The cases were all in Sedgwick County. He was released from prison June 26, records show.

The killing was the 39th criminal homicide of the year, Officer Charley Davidson said. Wichita had 35 in 2019.

This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 9:18 AM.