A Wichita man has been charged in connection with a series of shootings that left one man dead in a north side neighborhood.
A court appearance was held Wednesday for 33-year-old Jose Acosta, and he was charged with 11 counts including first degree murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of criminal discharge of a firearm, and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon including two counts against law enforcement officers.
Acosta’s bond was set at $5 million and his next court appearance was scheduled for December 11th.
Police were called around 9 p.m. last Friday night to a report of shots fired in the 1500 block of North Otis. Two people were on bicycles going north on Park from 13th Street when they heard shots. They rode over to Otis and they encountered the suspect, who pistol-whipped one of them and stole a bicycle. The suspect walked away with the bike and then fired a number of shots into a home on North Otis, barely missing the homeowner and striking his dog, who is now recovering from the injury.
The suspect then went to the 1600 block of North Broadway, spoke to the driver of a car, then fired shots at the car as it drove away. The suspect then rode south to 11th and Broadway and fired shots at another man on a bike, then went to a store across the street and fired shots at a woman in a parking lot. The man and woman were not hurt. Police officers heard the shots and went to the parking lot and confronted the suspect, ordering him to drop his gun and get on the ground. The man brought his gun up toward the officers, and they fired, striking him several times.
During a search of the area, the body of 40-year-old Myron Tucker was found in Prospect Park near 13th and Main. It’s believed that Tucker was shot at 8:49 p.m., around the time that the first shots were reported in the area, and it’s believed this was the first in the series of shootings. Investigators said Acosta did not know Tucker or any of the people who were assaulted.
Acosta was treated at a hospital and released on Sunday, and then he was booked into the county jail.
[ photo: Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office ]
