13 February 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A Topeka man has pled guilty to first degree murder.
A spokeswoman with the Shawnee County District Attorney announced in a news release that Wesley Tyrone Rayton, 48, of Topeka pled guilty to first degree murder in relation to a 2023 murder. On Jan. 31, 2023 Topeka police responded to the 900 block of SE 34th St. to reports of a shooting. Officers arrived to find Michael Comp dead inside of a White Chevrolet tow truck.
Police saw six shell casings nearby and the tow truck Comp was driving appeared to be hit three times by bullets, according to the news release. One witness described a person fleeing the scene in a green Ford Explorer, that officers later located near the 2900 block of SE Adams.
The driver of the Explorer immediately exited the vehicle and fell to his knees, identified himself as Rayton and told police his gun was inside the car. Rayton was taken to the Law Enforcement Center. Police found after an investigation that Rayton and Comp were having a dispute about a vehicle at the time of the shooting.
On Jan. 31, Rayton saw Comp delivering a vehicle, and approached the tow trick on foot and began shooting at it, according to the news release. Comp drove away before crashing at the location police found him.
Rayton’s sentencing will be on June 26, 2024 at 9 a.m.
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