7 February 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Criminal charges have been filed against a man accused of shooting and killing a man in Southeast Topeka in January.
The Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office filed the charges against Wesley T. Rayton Sr. in relation to the shooting death of Michael R. Comp on Jan. 31. Rayton has been charged with the following:
First degree murder
Criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle
Theft of a firearm
Aggravated assault
Police were sent to the area of the 900 block of Southeast 34th St. after receiving a call about a man shooting at a tow truck, according to the DA’s Office. Another caller also reported about the situation and told law enforcement that a tow truck had crashed into a nearby home and that its driver had been shot.
The DA’s Office said the shooter fled the area in a vehicle but responding police were able to spot it and took the driver, later identified as Rayton, into custody. The tow truck was located in the 900 block of Southeast 33rd Terrace. Police found the driver of the tow truck was suffering from a single gunshot wound that had entered the vehicle through the back glass and seat, hitting Comp and killing him.