Towne East shooting leads to 1st-degree murder charge

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A teenager who was arrested after a fatal shooting at Towne East in 2022 appeared before a judge Monday morning.

The court procedure was called a first appearance, even though the suspect, Te’bryis Robinson, has appeared before judges before in the case.

Last month, a judge ruled that Robinson should be tried as an adult in the death of 14-year-old TrenJ’vious Hutton.

On Monday, a judge read the charges against Robinson:

Murder in the first degree

Criminal use of a weapon

Last March, when Robinson was 17, a judge ruled he should be tried as an adult. The charges were first-degree murder and criminal use of a weapon.

But in June, the case was sent back to juvenile court due to “a deficiency in the record.” It again became an adult case last month.

Robinson was 16 on the day shots rang out at Towne East. He is now 18.

The shooting inside Towne East on March 18, 2022, killed Hutton. 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 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.