Two men arrested in double homicide south of Wichita; one suspect injured in shooting
Two men have been arrested in connection with a double homicide early Saturday in Sedgwick County, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ben Blick confirmed Tuesday.
Booking records show David Baeza, 42, and Joseph Ponse, 43, both from Wichita, were booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of first-degree felony murder.
In addition, Baeza was booked on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, records show.
The arrests come after a shooting early Saturday in the 4300 block of South Rock Road that left two people dead and one injured. The names of the people who died have not been released yet.
Baeza was identified at a media briefing Tuesday as the person who was seriously injured in the shooting. He was found with gunshot wounds and was taken to a hospital. He was booked into jail after he was released from the hospital, Col. Brian White with the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff’s investigators think drugs may have been involved in the shooting and are interviewing people to learn what led up to the shooting, White said.
Baeza, Ponse and the two victims knew each other, White said. He did not disclose the circumstances that led the group to meet on Saturday.
It’s unclear who fired shots and how Baeza was shot.
Kansas Department of Corrections records show Ponse has drug-related and attempted offender registration violation convictions out of Ford County in 2011, 2013 and 2017 cases. One of the drug convictions is a misdemeanor. The other two are felonies. The registration crime is also a felony, KDOC records say. The records show Ponse is on parole for a felony drug case from 2017.
This story was originally published July 5, 2022 at 1:26 PM.