Kidnapping, murder near Bel Aire draws sentence of life plus 16 years for Derby man
A 34-year-old Derby man has been ordered to serve life in prison plus more than 16 years for kidnapping a Wichita man and killing him in a field along a rural road east of Bel Aire in 2019.
A jury in November found Efrain D. Arroyo II guilty of first-degree felony murder and aggravated kidnapping in the Nov. 27, 2019, shooting death of 30-year-old Christian Hernandez. Arroyo was also convicted of driving a vehicle without a tag and criminal use of weapons in another case.
Prosecutors say Arroyo, with the help of others, kidnapped and held Hernandez at gunpoint, bound his wrists with a rope and shot him four times in the head in the 12000 block of East 45th Street North, between 127th Street East and Greenwich. A passerby found Hernandez’s body lying partly in a ditch and partly in a cut corn field with his hands tied behind his back, an affidavit released in the case says.
Authorities arrested Arroyo and his co-defendants on suspicion of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Thomas R. Armstrong, 37, of Wichita is serving seven years, four months in prison for kidnapping and interference with law enforcement in relation to the case. Dustyn J. Brown, who was charged with criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, is scheduled for sentencing on March 15, court records show.
Arroyo pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping and murder, claiming in court documents that he was at his sister’s house with her and her child when Hernandez was shot.
Before imposing the life sentence Tuesday, Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Williams told Arroyo his crimes were cold and calculated and said Hernandez was executed over a number of hours. Arroyo, he said, recruited others to help.
Relatives of Hernandez gave tearful statements about how their lives had changed since the shooting. Hernandez, they said, was a great dad who was always happy and smiling and looked forward to seeing his daughters grow up.
They knew something was wrong when he didn’t answer calls or texts from one of his girls about having dinner.
Hernandez’s aunt, who had a letter read in court, wrote that she “wanted to scream but I couldn’t” when they finally heard from detectives.
“That night is a horrible nightmare that I will never wake up from,” the mother of Hernandez’s daughters wrote in another letter read in court by Sedgwick County Assistant District Attorney Shannon Wilson.
The girls, who were 5 and 10 when their father died, talk about him all of the time, their mother wrote.
“His daughters loved him with all their hearts. ... He didn’t deserve this and neither did we.”
Arroyo declined a chance to speak when it was his turn to address the court.
His lawyer, Kurt Kerns, asked the judge to let Arroyo serve the sentences for all of his convictions at the same time. The Prisoner Review Board typically refuses first-time parole bids for lifetime prisoners so Arroyo likely would be incarcerated for more than 25 years, he said.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Short said the “brutality of the killing” warranted the longest prison sentence possible. Hernandez spent his last hours wondering if he was going to die, he said.
“If there’s a case that calls out for the maximum ... this case is it.”
Williams ultimately said no to Arroyo and ordered consecutive sentences. Arroyo will serve life in prison for the murder, with his first chance at parole after 25 years. At whatever point the Prisoner Review Board might grant Arroyo parole, he must serve another 15 1/2 years for the aggravated kidnapping and 9 months on the weapons charge before he can be released.
Williams also ordered Arroyo to pay a $500 fine for driving without a tag. He turned down a defense motion arguing for a new trial because a witness called Arroyo by a street name, “Monster,” in front of the jury and because the court didn’t give jurors the option to convict him of kidnapping instead of aggravated kidnapping. Kidnapping is a less serious offense.
Arroyo plans to appeal, his lawyer said.
