Guilty plea, sentencing set in Wichita drive-by shooting case where girl, 11, was hit
A parolee charged with carrying out a drive-by shooting that hurt an 11-year-old girl lying in bed last fall has pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery.
Byron Monroe Purcell, 26, of Wichita, admitted to harming the girl in a Monday plea hearing that took place instead of his jury trial, court records show. Sedgwick County District Judge Tyler Roush is scheduled to sentence him on Nov. 9, Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Dan Dillon said by email.
Police acting on a tip arrested Purcell on Oct. 14, 2021, after seeing him get into a vehicle at a local home. Authorities say he opened fire on a house in the 1400 block of North Harding, near 13th and Oliver, two days prior in an attack meant to target someone there. The shooting happened around 12:30 a.m.
According to an arrest affidavit, Purcell admitted to a family friend that he’d been the gunman after seeing reports about the shooting on the news but said he hadn’t meant to hurt the girl. He told the friend he didn’t realize she’d been hit until police released surveillance video of the shooter’s vehicle and announced a $1,000 reward for the tip that solved the case, the affidavit says.
The girl was shot on the right side of her abdomen above her hip. The injury wasn’t life-threatening but she needed surgery to remove the bullet and battled an infection afterward, the affidavit says.
Purcell remained in the Sedgwick County Jail on Tuesday, awaiting sentencing. His bond is $250,000.
