After causing mistrial in Wichita murder case, juror pleads guilty to contempt charge
A juror who caused a mistrial in a Wichita murder case in April after he ignored a judge’s orders pleaded guilty on Monday to one misdemeanor count of criminal contempt of court.
The juror, 22-year-old Kyle Wissner of Haysville, was immediately sentenced to one year of probation and given a $500 fine after entering the plea, but he will be released from probation after he pays the fine and court costs, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. Wissner might have to serve 30 days of jail if he fails to follow the terms of his probation while he’s on it.
Under state law, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office prosecutes all contempt cases and a deputy attorney general handled Monday’s hearing, the DA’s Office said in the release. Sedgwick County District Judge Sean Hatfield accepted Wissner’s plea and handed down the sentence.
Wissner’s lawyer declined to comment on the development. The plea came on the same day Wissner was scheduled for a bench trial on the matter, court records show.
Wissner was charged with contempt after he violated orders from Sedgwick County District Judge Tyler Roush to not discuss details about the traffic death of an expectant mother, 22-year-old Samantha Russell, while the defendant’s murder trial was ongoing. Russell was killed by a man fleeing from police on July 6, 2021, at Central and Ridge in west Wichita. She was eight months pregnant at the time.
Wissner and other jurors had been warned repeatedly to not talk about the case among themselves prior to deliberations — or with others before the trial concluded — and to avoid other things that might taint the trial, including reading media coverage, doing independent research or visiting the crime scene.
But Wissner shared information he apparently gleaned from news reports with fellow jurors after they’d been empaneled.
Other jurors reported the violation, leading Roush to interview each and ultimately declare a mistrial on April 26 to ensure the defendant, Javan Ervin, received a fair trial.
Ervin, 39, was convicted of seven counts, including first-degree felony murder and second-degree reckless murder, at his second trial earlier this month. He faces a life sentence plus additional time when he sentenced July 26.
