WICHITA — The first-degree murder charge against a former 2021 Great Bend High School senior charged in the April shooting death of a Wichita teen has been reduced, said Dan Dillon, spokesman for the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
The charge against Breckyn Elliott, 19, was changed this week to attempted obstructing apprehension or prosecution and attempted possession of marijuana. The first charge is a felony and the second is a misdemeanor. For the felony, depending on the criminal record, the penalty ranges from probation to 13 months in jail.
Elliott’s next court appearance is before Sedgwick County District Judge Eric Williams on Dec. 7, Dillon said. It’s a control hearing to determine a date for a preliminary hearing with evidence.
Also charged in the case was Easton Palmer, 19, of Wichita. He was charged with first-degree murder, and that charge remains unchanged, Dillon said. His next court appearance is a control hearing before Williams on Nov. 24.
Elliott and Palmer on June 21 went before Williams for what was called a preliminary hearing case assessment. At that time, the matter was continued until July 8 when there was to be a preliminary control hearing where prosecuting and defense attorneys looked at schedules and consider the next steps for the cases against both suspects.
The Wichita Police Department arrested Elliott on April 29 near 21st and Maize Road as the second suspect in connection to the death of 17-year-old Eric Stokes, who was shot and killed at Morgan’s Landing Apartments near 13th and West streets in Wichita on Sunday, April 25.
Police arrested Palmer on April 27 at a home in the 11200 block of West Dora on the same charges.
Elliott and Palmer were both booked into the Sedgwick County Jail, each on one count of first-degree murder in commission of a felony. They were being held in lieu of a $250,000 professional surety bond, but Elliott has since bonded out while Palmer remains in custody, court records indicated.
Authorities on June 21 arrested a third suspect, 25-year-old Jaron Palmer, also charged with first-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery in connection with Stokes’s death, according to the WPD. He remains in custody on the murder count, as well as charges of sexual exploitation of a child, in lieu of a professional surety bond of $500,000.
According to a WPD news release, Stokes and four others were in an apartment when three armed suspects in masks forced their way inside. Stokes and the others went into a bedroom, and police allege the suspects fired several shots.
A second teen suffered minor injuries in the shooting. Investigators believe the incident was drug related.
