Man who shot gang rival at Wichita club after spitting, slapping episode is sentenced
A Wichita man will spend more than 19 years in prison for shooting a rival gang member and the rival’s girlfriend at an after-hours club in 2018.
Authorities say Tyreese L. Atkinson Jr. opened fire on the victims in retaliation after the rival gang member slapped one of his friends. The gang member told police the evening turned violent after one of Atkinson’s friends spit on him while they were standing outside of the southeast Wichita club on July 8, 2018, court records say.
Atkinson reportedly shot the rival gang member seven times — once each in the back and right arm and five times in the upper legs — and shot the girlfriend once in the left leg, records show. The victims were 25 and 23 at the time. They were near the front entrance of the Lion’s Den club, 6305 E. Harry, waiting to get in when the shooting occurred, police said previously.
Atkinson, 27, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery on May 31, 2019. Originally, he was due to be sentenced in December 2019, but he skipped the hearing, resulting in a warrant for his arrest.
He also tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his plea in the months leading up to his new sentencing date, according to court records.
Sedgwick County District Judge Stephen Ternes handed down a 233-month prison term on Aug. 6 after denying a request for leniency from Atkinson’s defense attorney. Atkinson will be required to register as a violent offender for 15 years after he is released, according to court documents.
He remained in the Sedgwick County Jail on Wednesday awaiting adjudication of other cases where he’s charged with domestic battery crimes, drug possession, criminal possession of a firearm and offender registration violations, court records show.
