Man killed outside Haysville home was shot after spat over stolen pain pills: affidavit
Two men charged with murdering a 23-year-old Wichitan earlier this year told investigators the deadly shooting happened after a confrontation over stolen pain pills.
The men, 27-year-old Jim J. Sanchez and 25-year-old Justin Lee Welch, in their interviews with law enforcement blamed each other for firing the bullet that killed Vennie K. Kongvongsay.
Each said Welch was upset that some of his uncle’s pain medication had gone missing and accused Kongvongsay of taking them, according to probable cause affidavits released by the Sedgwick County District Court this month.
Welch told Wichita police investigating a theft report about the stolen medication that Kongvongsay had been his uncle’s home health care worker for around a month when the pills vanished on Feb. 5.
The affidavit says the men picked up Kongvongsay early on Feb. 10 — under the guise of collecting a debt or to conduct a drug deal, witnesses told authorities — and drove him to 86th Street South and Broadway in Haysville, the affidavit says.
Prosecutors allege Sanchez and Welch then robbed Kongvongsay of his cellphone and murdered him. The affidavit says the shooting happened after Welch questioned Kongvongsay about the missing pain medications, which Kongvongsay denied stealing.
Sanchez and Welch both said Kongvongsay was shot as they drove away, the affidavit says.
A homeowner found Kongvongsay’s body in their backyard shortly after 1 p.m. on Feb. 10 and called authorities, a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said previously.
Sanchez and Welch, both of Wichita, are charged with first-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery in connection with the slaying. Each is being held in the Sedgwick County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond while awaiting preliminary hearings, which are scheduled for later this spring.
