Man dead after Friday bar fight in Wichita, suspect facing manslaughter charge: cops
A Wichita man has died following an early Friday morning bar fight on the northeast side of the city.
Police say 31-year-old Alonzo Haywood was at Mulligan’s Pub, in the 8300 block of East 32nd Street North, with several of his family members when “an argument broke out” with 51-year-old James Elbert Thomas of Wichita after 2 a.m. closing time.
“The argument escalated when Thomas punched Haywood, causing him to fall to the ground and strike his head,” police said in a news release Monday. “Multiple people then began physically fighting.”
Like Haywood, Thomas was also at the bar with several people, police said. The bar is located near K-96 and Rock.
Friends of Haywood took him to a Wichita hospital for treatment of injuries he received during the fight. He died on Sunday.
Police found and arrested Thomas near the bar after the fight, police said. After law enforcement interviews, he was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of aggravated battery, but the booking charge has since been amended to involuntary manslaughter because Haywood died.
Jail records show Thomas is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond. Police plan to present the results of their investigation to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide what formal criminal charges to pursue, if any.
Thomas was booked at 4:35 p.m. Friday, records show.
This story was originally published November 29, 2021 at 5:36 PM.
