Wichita man charged with killing pregnant woman wants out of jail without paying bail
The man charged with killing an expectant mother in a daytime traffic crash at a busy Wichita intersection wants out of jail without having to pay bail.
Javan Jermaine Ervin, 37, of Wichita is asking the Sedgwick County judge presiding over his first-degree murder case to grant him an “own recognizance” bond, which would allow him to go free at no cost.
Ervin is charged with eight crimes in connection with the July 6 death of Samantha Russell, a 22-year-old Realtor and wife who was expecting her first baby in August. She was eight months pregnant when the deadly collision occurred.
In a July 28 handwritten motion, Ervin asked to be released “into the custody of someone trustworthy, on a house arrest program, (or) to a pre-trial officer,” solely on the promise that he’ll show up to court dates as ordered and follow any other rules the judge sets.
He wrote that he wants the motion to “be heard and granted as soon as possible” and he thinks an own-recognizance bond is fair for reasons including “his right to be (presumed) innocent until proven guilty” of any criminal charges.
Ervin’s court-appointed lawyer followed up with a similar written motion on July 30, saying in the document that the 37-year-old “lacks the funds or means” to pay a “substantial bail amount.”
Ervin has been in the Sedgwick County Jail since his July 6 arrest and is currently being held on bonds totaling $550,000, an online log of inmates shows.
Ervin “lives in the local area, has strong family support, has family and other significant ties to the community, and would abide by all orders of the Court if granted an Own Recognizance (“OR”) bond,” attorney Patrick Mitchell wrote in the motion for a reduced bond.
Ervin “respectfully requests that the bond conditions be modified to allow Defendant to be released on his own recognizance.”
Judge Tyler Roush is scheduled to hear the motions at 11:15 a.m. Friday, court records show.
Authorities have said that Russell was waiting in a turning lane at Central and Ridge at around 5 p.m. on July 6 when Ervin blew through a red traffic light in a Chevrolet Silverado truck, careened through the intersection and struck several vehicles, including her blue Mazda CX-3.
Ervin was fleeing from a Wichita police officer pursuing him after an earlier robbery call, authorities said previously.
Police have said the chase lasted less than a minute before it was called off due to “high speed and traffic conditions.”
But it’s unclear whether Ervin knew he was no longer being pursued.
Russell was rushed to Wesley Medical Center, where her baby boy, Mac, was born prematurely via Cesarean section a minute after she was admitted into one of the trauma bays.
She was pronounced dead three minutes later, according to an affidavit.
Ervin is charged with eight crimes over the fatal crash: first-degree murder, aggravated battery, failure to stop at an accident that resulted in a death, driving with a suspended license and two counts of fleeing and eluding, and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon. His prior convictions include robbery and aggravated battery in Sedgwick County from 2004 to 2009, Kansas Department of Corrections records show.
