Wichita man who killed a driver in 2021 random shooting gets life sentence
A 23-year-old Wichita man will spend life in prison, plus 13 months, for killing another man in a shooting that a prosecutor called “unconscionable” and “random” at his sentencing hearing Monday.
Jesus Manzano-Legarda targeted 23-year-old Jacquez Carter of Wichita “for a reason known only to him” as Carter drove his car in south Wichita on Sept. 8, 2021, Sedgwick County Assistant District Attorney Shannon Wilson said before District Judge Bruce Brown imposed the maximum sentence.
“Mr. Carter was minding his own business ... It was random and quite frankly everyone’s nightmare,” Wilson said in court.
Defense attorney Jess Hoeme offered no explanation for the shooting, but argued Manzano-Legarda deserves a new trial due to errors he thinks improperly influenced jurors and kept some from being impartial. Manzano-Legarda had a different lawyer when he was tried last fall.
“There’s not much to say. He’s 23 years old. We hope that he will eventually have another trial ... and have an opportunity to be heard,” Hoeme said.
Prosecutors, in response, said the trial was fair and nothing warranted a re-do. The judge agreed and noted his rulings would be reviewed on appeal.
Jurors convicted Manzano-Legarda of first-degree felony murder and criminal discharge of a firearm on Oct. 7, 2022, after a four-day trial, according to statements in court. Wichita police have said Carter was shot multiple times from the passenger side of an SUV that pulled alongside him while he was stopped at a red light at Harry and Topeka, near Broadway.
Carter, a father of two who like working on classic cars, continued driving on Harry until he lost control of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and crashed into a utility pole near Washington. He died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the back, an arrest affidavit says an autopsy determined. The shooting and crash happened around 5:30 p.m.
Police arrested Manzano-Legarda the next day.
Manzano-Legarda must serve more than 26 years in prison before he’s eligible for parole.
This story was originally published October 24, 2023 at 12:51 PM.
