Judge tosses attempted murder case of Wichita man accused of shooting cousin in face
A Sedgwick County judge has thrown out an attempted murder case that prosecutors filed against a Wichita man accused of shooting his cousin in the face.
Court filings show Judge Bruce Brown dismissed the charges against 30-year-old Terrell Jovan Parker “for lack of probable cause” following a preliminary hearing that took place on two days last month, Feb. 1 and Feb. 24. Parker had been charged with attempted first-degree premeditated murder and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon in connection with the July 22 shooting at his cousin’s home near Harry and Oliver.
Citing witness statements, police wrote in an affidavit used to support Parker’s arrest and the criminal charges that the shooting came after the men had argued on the phone about missing drug money and property. The affidavit says Parker got a ride to his cousin’s home, took $40 and told people in the car when he left: “I shot him in the head.”
The wounded cousin, 32, also identified Parker as the shooter, the affidavit says. The cousin told police Parker was high on heroin at the time.
But Parker denied doing it when he spoke with the authorities, telling them a different cousin who had been “trying to set him up” was actually responsible for the shooting, according to the affidavit.
Parker last month echoed that account in a handwritten motion demanding a judge dismiss the case, saying that he “did not have a firearm in his possession,” that “there is no creditable witness to testify” differently, and that the state lacked “tangible evidence” against him.
“There was simply no evidence that my client committed the crime,” Parker’s court-appointed defense attorney, Mark Sevart, said by email when asked about the dismissal. Parker “was grateful for the ruling,” he said.
“Sadly with the COVID 19 pandemic, my client had to sit in the County Jail for several months waiting on a hearing. It was not Judge Brown’s fault as he tried to get the case heard on several occasions, but because of witnesses having COVID the case had to be continued,” Sevart wrote.
“The circumstances are such that innocent people are being held in jails waiting their turn to get into Court.”
Dan Dillon, spokesman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, said the case was dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning it could be refiled at a later date.
Whether that will happen “has yet to be determined,” he said.
Parker remained in the Sedgwick County Jail on Tuesday on a state parole violation but had been ordered released in connection with the shooting case, records show. It wasn’t immediately clear when the parole matter might be resolved.
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 1:29 PM.
