Wichita man held in killing accused of attacking victim’s nephew with jailhouse shank

A 39-year-old jailed Wichita man could face additional charges after he used a “makeshift weapon” to attack a family member of the person he’s accused of killing, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Benjamin Blick said.

The attack happened around 1:53 p.m. Wednesday when Jermall Lynn Campbell left his “housing area” in the jail. He “approached the entry to the victim’s housing area and when the victim opened the door attacked him with a makeshift weapon,” Blick said in a news release.

The other inmate, who is the nephew of 47-year-old DeAndre Freeman Sr., the man Campbell is accused of fatally shooting, had roughly seven lacerations; two required sutures to close. The inmate was treated by medical staff at the jail.

“We located a shank hidden after the assault but we’re unsure if it was the weapon used,” Blick said in an email.

Campbell has been charged with first-degree felony murder, aggravated battery, criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and misdemeanor gambling in connection to the fatal June 20 shooting in the 1700 block of North Harding, near 17th Street and Oliver.

When authorities arrived at the address around 8:25 a.m., Freeman was dead on the kitchen floor and another man, 53, was on the couch with a gunshot wound that required hospitalization.

Freeman was shot around a dozen times, according to information in his autopsy report cited in the affidavit.

The shooting started after Campbell asked Freeman to “front him some money” after he lost all his winnings during a dice game, the affidavit said.

That sparked an argument where Campbell reportedly asked Freeman “if he did not like him or if he hated him,” the affidavit says.

They ended up in a face-to-face confrontation sometime in the early morning hours.

Campbell turned himself in more than a week later, police said.

Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker with The Eagle

This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 1:30 PM.