June sentencing for parolee who shot Wichita man during arranged gun sale
A parolee charged with killing a 42-year-old Wichita man who met him on a dirt road to buy guns has pleaded no contest to amended counts of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, Sedgwick County District Court records show.
Christian Lee Wohlford, 24, of Wichita, faces 55 to 247 months in prison for the manslaughter charge and 11 to 34 months for the aggravated assault when he is sentenced June 30. He entered the plea Wednesday before District Judge David Dahl.
Prosecutors allege the 24-year-old shot Jeremy “J Dub” Hutchens in the head around 3:15 a.m. on Sept. 22, 2020, after Hutchens met and agreed to buy guns from him, according to a probable cause affidavit released in the case. Police found Hutchens dead in the driver’s seat of a white Nissan Xterra near the intersection of Newell and Gordon after his cousin called 911.
Originally, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office charged Wohlford with first-degree felony murder and alleged the killing occurred as Wohlford robbed Hutchens of cash. But the amended manslaughter charge alleges the shooting happened after a “sudden quarrel ensued” between the men while each held a loaded gun.
The cousin told police Wohlford pointed a gun at Hutchens and pulled the trigger as Hutchens counted out cash to pay for the weapons. She begged Wohlford to not fire and ducked when he turned the gun on her, the affidavit says. She wasn’t hurt.
Wohlford fled after the shooting. When police later arrested him during a traffic stop, he was carrying three blood-stained $20 bills, the affidavit says.
In two police interviews after his arrest, Wohlford denied involvement in the shooting then blamed the killing on his getaway driver, the affidavit says.
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 4:39 PM.
