14 March 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A teenager arrested after a fatal shooting at Towne East last year will be tried as an adult.
The suspect, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, was charged with first-degree murder in juvenile court. On Tuesday, he waived his evidentiary hearing, and Judge Greg Keith transferred the case to adult court.
District Attorney Marc Bennett said the charge would be the same. The charging paperwork will be filed between now and the teen’s first appearance on March 28. KSN News will not release the teenager’s name until the paperwork is filed.
TrenJ’vious Hutton, 14, was shot and killed inside Towne East on March 18, 2022. An active shooter call went out to the police department, and as officers arrived, shoppers were racing to leave the building. Dispatchers at Sedgwick County 911 took 168 calls in less than 10 minutes after the shooting.
The Wichita Police Department said the victim was fighting with people he knew from an ongoing dispute. During the fight, police say the 16-year-old suspect allegedly pulled out a handgun and fired multiple shots, hitting Hutton.
Some witnesses near the shooting tried to save Hutton‘s life, but he died at the scene.