‘Wish I could have prevented’ fatal beating, man guilty of murder says. He’ll go to prison
A 34-year-old man has been ordered to serve 24 years, nine months in prison for participating in the fatal beating of a homeless man on the Seneca Street Bridge in Wichita in 2022.
A Sedgwick County jury convicted Abel Cruz Molina in September of second-degree intentional murder and possession of methamphetamine in the deadly Feb. 22, 2022, beating of 30-year-old Blake Barnes. Another man, David Chandler, is serving a nearly 18-year prison sentence for second-degree intentional murder in connection with the killing.
Court records say Molina and Chandler, who were also homeless, hit Barnes repeatedly in the head with metal pipes or bars in retaliation for rummaging through Chandler’s tent and allegedly stealing a walking stick.
At his September trial Molina admitted he initially lied to police about being at the scene but blamed Barnes’ killing on Chandler and claimed he only acted as a “Good Samaritan” who tried to stop the attack.
But eyewitnesses and evidence, including the victim’s blood on Molina’s clothing, tied him to the murder.
Police have said Molina and Chandler were camping under the Seneca Street Bridge, in the 600 block of North Seneca near McLean, at the time and left Barnes to die after beating him as motorists looked on. Barnes died from injuries that included skull fractures within hours of bystanders calling 911, authorities have said.
Barnes’ obituary describes him as a father of two who loved music and lived in the Delano neighborhood area his entire life.
Molina was sentenced to prison Monday by Sedgwick County District Judge Jeff Goering, who also ordered he pay $4,981.30 in restitution to the Kansas Crime Victims Compensation Board and be supervised for three years after he is released from prison, Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Dan Dillon said by email.
The Kansas Crime Victims Compensation Board provides financial assistance to violent crime victims to help cover lost wages, medical costs and funeral and burial expenses. Defendants are often ordered to reimburse the board for their victims’ expenses following a conviction.
In a handwritten motion filed with the court in December, Molina pleaded for mercy in sentencing, saying he is “sorry for and wish I could have prevented” Barnes’ death. He asked for probation, which he wrote would allow him to care for ailing family and seek the “very intense” drug and alcohol treatment he needs to “become a completely and fully functioning” individual.
The judge denied the request but recommended Molina serve his sentence at the state correctional mental health facility in Larned, according to Dillon and court records. Molina noted several mental health issues, including multiple personality disorder and paranoid schizophrenia diagnoses, in a December court filing where he wrote of needing “psychiatric care for the benefit of myself and others.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 12:48 PM.
