‘She has a lot’: Court document details Wichita robbery, murder as fourth person arrested

A 26-year-old Wichita man is the fourth person to be arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in what started as an early morning robbery in April, according to court records and a Saturday arrest report.

Joseph Edward Fiedler was arrested Friday at a west Wichita apartment in connection to the April 29 killing of 36-year-old Christian A. Santiago of Wichita. Santiago was found shot dead outside of a Toyota Rav 4 parked on the curb in the 2800 block of East Stadium. He had been shot multiple times in the chest and stomach.

A handgun was found on the passenger floorboard of the SUV. Santiago had a digital scale and a plastic container with a “crystal-like substance” in his pocket, according to an arrest affidavit.

First-degree murder charges have already been filed against 48-year-old Jorge Romero, 47-year-old Adonis Christopher Andrews and 41-year-old Shaun Micah O’Brien in connection to Santiago’s death. An arrest affidavit in the case shows how those three, either through text messages or by their own statements, allegedly planned the robbery of a female drug dealer, but it doesn’t definitively tell the role Fiedler played in the killing.

Santiago went with the female to the home before he was shot.

She was severely beaten and robbed.

She had a “broken jaw, traumatic brain injury, and a hematoma on her forehead,” the affidavit says. What all was stolen from her was unclear. The affidavit mentions a bag being stolen from her or the vehicle she drove. A duffle bag was found in one of the suspect’s homes with 3-5 pounds of methamphetamine.

Fiedler’s role in the killing will be better known if he is charged and an affidavit is released in the case. Fiedler’s involvement in the case is obscured by the fact that the current affidavit has multiple names redacted.

He has previous convictions from 2018 and 2019 in Sedgwick County of aggravated weapons violations, forgery, theft, burglary and criminal possession of non-firearm weapon by a felon, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records. Additionally, he was also charged in March for criminal possession of a firearm, court records show.

Contradicting accounts by the people involved make it unclear if anyone else will be arrested.

The female who was beaten told police that O’Brien’s girlfriend pointed a gun at her and demanded money, but the girlfriend has a different account.

Police would not say Saturday if they expect any more arrests.

Here is what the affidavit says about what happened:

Planning a robbery

There were seven people in the house, while Santiago was outside, before the shooting outside.

Three of the people who were in the home have been charged. The other four include O’Brien’s girlfriend and three people whose names are redacted, including the female who later told police she sold methamphetamine.

Text messages from O’Brien’s phone show he texted Romero an address just around 12:30 a.m. on April 28. It appears that April 28 is a typo by police since the incident happened on April 29.

Additionally, the last three numbers of the address are redacted. The first number is a “2” and the rest of the address is E. Stadium. The shooting happened in 2800 block of East Stadium where O’Brien and his girlfriend live.

O’Brien also texted: “She has a lot of (stuff) on her G.”

Romero tells him to stall. And O’Brien replies: “I was going to lay her down and take everything but I wanted to wait for u I want u to get some of the blessings.”

Romero says back: “Then keep her tied.”

O’Brien replies: “Yeah Im going to do that as soon as I get her out of the car she’s in there knocked G lol out cold.”

Romero says he will be there in 15 minutes.

Andrews also texted O’Brien that “we on the way.” O’Brien says that she is about to be there any minute and they will “split everything in thirds.”

The last message prior to the shooting was sent by O’Brien at 12:46 a.m., the affidavit says.

“She just tried to run me over G in her car (I don’t know) where she is going and regardless I got something real nice for u G u gonna like it.”

It’s unclear what happened next. The shooting wasn’t reported for another three hours.

It’s also not clear if anyone was still at the home when police arrived.

One male, who is only identified as person 4 in the affidavit, said “they all left the residence because they were scared.”

Accounts of what happened

A couple of days after the incident, the female who had been robbed and beaten was interviewed by police. She said she took Santiago to “unknown location” before the robbery and shooting, the affidavit says.

The woman said she sold methamphetamine and that O’Brien and that person 4 were known to rob people.

She had a pink K-State purse, wallet and phone that “she no longer has,” the affidavit says. She didn’t remember being beaten, but recalled O’Brien’s girlfriend pointing a gun at her demanding money.

O’Brien’s girlfriend told police that the female was standing next to the dresser when Romero came up from behind and put a pistol to her head. The suspect had on a black bandanna over the bottom part of his face and a hoodie, but she still knew it was him, especially because of a tattoo next to his eye.

Romero “grabbed her, pushed her to the ground, and stomped on her head.”

Another man, who she knew to be Andrews despite a bandanna on the bottom of his face, came and grabbed the female’s purse and a bag off the floor. She told police she heard the gunshots outside after Andrews left the home but while Romero was still inside.

O’Brien also said Andrews took the female’s bag.

Person 4 said he and one other person were on the living room couch when two masked men busted into the house with guns and told them not to move.

They went to the back bedroom where O’Brien, his girlfriend and the female were.

“He heard (a) scream and then a thud,” the affidavit says. “The men left the residence. One of the males was carrying (the female’s) pink purse.”

He followed and saw one of the suspects shoot Santiago.

The man said: “You been here the whole time?” and then fired five or six shots into the driver’s side vehicle, person 4 told police. The suspect ran off with a ruffle bag that he thought came from the SUV.

“Multiple gunshots were in the front driver’s window,” the affidavit says.

Santiago opened the door, fell out and said ‘help,”’ he said.

Person 4 said “they all left the residence because they were scared,” according to the affidavit.

The female who was beaten and robbed then ran to a neighbor around the corner and had him call 911. She said she and the person she was with were robbed and then the person was killed.

Finding a bag of drugs

Andrews was later arrested at his home. He had on him a black bandanna. There were spots on it that tested positive as blood.

Inside his home, police found a handgun with an extended magazine and a duffle bag with 3-5 pounds of methamphetamine. A paycheck with his name on it was found in one of the pouches on the bag.

Andrews told investigators the bag and drugs belonged to someone else who lived at the home.

Andrews denied being at the home when the robbery and killing occurred, but admitted to having a part in what happened.

Andrews said he heard O’Brien, his girlfriend and two unknown males talking about the female “shorting them” and making a plan to rob her. Andrews was supposed to just walk in the area and be given a bag.

For this, he would get $500.

Andrews said he threw the bag near 21st and Erie when he heard police sirens. Officers found an empty bag in that area with “makeup products nearby.”