WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A local man who allegedly stole a truck and killed two people in a police pursuit last weekend has been charged.
Jimmy Guinn III, 20, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, or two counts of second-degree murder in the alternative.
Cases can be charged alternatively if there are two or more theories of how the crime was committed. Each charge can be presented to a jury, and a defendant may be convicted of more than one of the alternative charges. However, the defendant can only be sentenced for one of the alternative counts, that being the most severe offense.
Guinn was also charged with two counts of fleeing and eluding law enforcement and one count of theft.
Police Chief Buck Buchanan with the Andover Police Department (APD) said they received a call around 2:45 p.m. for the report of a stolen 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 from a Dollar General in Andover.
Four minutes after the call, an officer noticed the stolen truck at Andover Road and Kellogg Avenue. Buchanan said that is when the officer initiated a traffic stop, and it became a chase. The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) assisted.
“63rd Street gets pretty heavy with traffic, so that’s when they decided we’re not, we’re done,” Buchanan said.
The chase lasted seven minutes. The suspect in the stolen vehicle continued south onto Greenwich Road.
“When he got onto 63rd Street South, at that point, he looks like he hit the guard rail. Looks like he lost part of a front tire and continued west toward Derby. As he was preceding towards Derby, he crossed the center line and side-swiped another vehicle and then went head-on with the vehicle that’s currently at the scene,” Buchanan said, regarding the suspect vehicle.
Two people were in the car that was hit head-on, Alyna Elder, 19, and her boyfriend Nathaniel Ashworth, 20. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Guinn received minor injuries and was taken to an area hospital.
The 34-year-old driver of the car that was sideswiped was uninjured.
Guinn is currently being held on a bond of $500,000. He is next due in court on June 15.