Wichita teen headed to prison in road rage shooting that injured two, official says

A 19-year-old Wichita man will spend the next five years in prison after being sentenced in a July 2023 road-rage shooting that injured two teens, according to Sedgwick County District Attorney spokesperson Dan Dillon.

Xavier Taylor Wayne Becker was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty on May 30 to two counts of aggravated battery, Dillon said in an email.

The shooting happened around 11:40 p.m. on July 14, 2023, on I-235 near Meridian.

Here is what an arrest affidavit says happened based on accounts from witnesses and the victims:

The victims and suspect were involved in an accident.

Becker had gotten out of the car he was driving at the intersection of Pawnee and West, holding a gun, and tried to get the driver of the Ford Escape to stop, the affidavit says.

The driver of the SUV took off. Becker got back in his car and followed.

Becker came up next to them and waved and yelled “pull over” and “give me the money,” one of the victims told police. Becker then opened fire.

The victims were 17 and 19 at the time.

One victim had a gunshot wound that went through his right armpit and “pierced (his) diaphragm, liver, and collapsed his lung,” the affidavit said. A .45 caliber bullet was removed from his body.

The other victim had a gunshot wound to his left leg that shattered his femur.

The SUV had several bullets in the passenger side.

Social media posts pointed to Becker being the suspect and posted his photo, according to the affidavit. A black handgun magazine and lower half of a Taurus .45 caliber handgun was found in Becker’s room.