SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas man charged with shooting a teen in a Walmart parking lot is due to face a trial on Monday. Ruben Contreras, 47 of Wichita, is charged with attempted 1st degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.
He is scheduled to appear in Judge Quinton Pittman's courtroom for the trial. In July Contreras plead not guilty to the charges.
Just before 5p.m. May 11, 2024 officers were dispatched to a call involving a weapon at Walmart, 18631 W. Kellogg in Goddard, according to a statement from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's office. First responders located an 18-year-old, later identified as Anakin Zehring, in a vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound, in the Walmart parking lot.
Zehring and some friends were firing a toy gel blaster in the parking lot when they hit a girl, according to a court document. Investigators say she called her father, Contreras, who came to the scene and shot Zehring. EMS transported Zehring to the hospital in serious condition. He continues to recover at a hospital in Nebraska, according to an online fundraiser.
A suspect identified as Contreras, remained on the scene when law enforcement arrived and was taken into custody.
Contreras was transported to Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Investigation to be interviewed. He was later booked into Sedgwick County Detention Facility and later met the condition of a $300-thousand bond and is out of jail, according to online records.