Man arrested in deadly east-side Wichita motel shooting was on parole, KDOC says
A 20-year-old man arrested in connection with a shooting that left two people dead Saturday at an east Wichita motel was on parole, a Kansas Department of Corrections official said.
John Arthur Griffin, 20, was arrested following the shooting. He was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, jail inmate records show.
He could face capital murder, aggravated endangering of a child, criminal possession of a weapon by felon, aggravated battery, battery on a law enforcement officer, criminal damage to property and parole violation charges, records show.
Griffin was granted parole on Dec. 29, 2023. He was convicted on two counts of battery in February 2022 in Shawnee County, KDOC spokesperson David Thompson said.
In May 2022, he was admitted to a juvenile detention center in Hutchinson before being transferred to the El Dorado correctional facility, where he was granted parole, Thompson added.
Wichita police responded to Saturday’s shooting shortly before 9:30 a.m. at the Blue Way Inn & Suites in the 7300 block of East Kellogg. They found Christopher Harrell and Natisha Phillips, both 35 and from Wichita, with gunshot wounds, police said.
Phillips died at the motel; Harrell died at a hospital. A 2-year-old boy was found at the motel unharmed.
Police have not disclosed a motive for the shooting or the relationship between the people involved in it.
Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call WPD detectives at 316-268-4407 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.
