Passenger sentenced to 36 years after fatally shooting SUV driver

A Wichita man has been sentenced to more than 36 years in prison after fatally shooting a 43-year-old SUV driver from the back seat of the vehicle.

Jesse Dean Rau was driving James Standefer, 37, and a woman around Haysville early on Sept. 7, 2025 when the two men began arguing.

The woman told detectives that, at first, Standefer was upset over a necklace Rau had, according to a probable cause affidavit. But later, he became angry with Rau’s driving, telling Rau he was wanted by police and worried he would be taken into custody.

That’s when Rau stopped near the South Broadway Jump Start, and Standefer pulled a small handgun from his waistband, court records described. He pointed the gun at the passenger-side windshield and fired one shot, the woman told police, before turning the firearm on Rau.

“Do it, do it, I dare you,” Rau said to Standefer, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Standefer then shot Rau in the back of the head, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway and strike a tree. The woman suffered minor injuries. Rau was taken to a hospital where he died.

Standefer fled but was arrested the next day after a short SWAT standoff.

While being booked at the Sedgwick County Jail, Standefer said he shot Rau in the head, court documents read. He pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in November and was sentenced to 442 months — just shy of 37 years — in prison on Wednesday.