A Wichita man has been sentenced to over 23 years in prison for firing shots at police officers who were checking on a report of a stolen car in 2017.
22-year-old Elijah Martinez was found guilty in may of attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated assault on an officer, and other crimes that occurred on December 27, 2017 in the area of I-235 and Central.
Prosecutors said Martinez and his girlfriend stole a car in east Wichita and they were seen stealing mail on the city’s west side. A resident called police and followed Martinez to a business near I-235 and Central. When officers arrived, Martinez shot at them and sped away. Officers returned fire and Martinez was hit in the jaw and the back of the head. He led officers on a chase that ended in the parking lot of a video store at Maple and Maize Road.
A judge sentenced Martinez to 281 months in prison, and he ordered Martinez to register as a violent offender when he is released. The sentence also covered a series of burglaries in the College Hill neighborhood that were reported in the fall of 2017. Two other men were convicted of five home burglaries.
Martinez was also ordered to pay over $31,000 in restitution for property losses in the cases.
