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Suspects charged in drive-thru shooting

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By Eyewitness News

4:11 PM CST, January 11, 2013

(WICHITA, Kan.)

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The two people arrested Wednesday in connection with a shooting outside at a Wichita McDonald's and a standoff at a home on W. Newell have been formally charged.

Prosecutors charged Sean Costa and Melissa Palacios with aggravated assault with a shot gun, aggravated assault with a tire iron and criminal posession of a firearm.

Costa has served time for aggravated battery.  He confessed to attacking Kameron Crowder in a Wichita bar in 2010.  Court records show he had a history of associating with white supremacists.  Crowder was one of two African American men Costa and two others attacked that night.

Meanwhile, Melissa Palacios served time on drug charges.

Wednesday morning, police say a couple got the wrong order at the McDonald's at Kellogg & Dugan. Investigators say the pair cut in front of others at the drive-thru to get the order fixed.

Police say the pair then got into a fight with two people in another car. As they were leaving, investigators say Palacios got out and threw a crowbar at the victim's car. Eyewitnesses say Costa then got out and fired a shotgun at the victim's car door.

"I just couldn't imagine somebody getting that upset over a wrong order at a restaurant," said Kristen Pore, who lives in the neighborhood.

Customers took down the suspects' personalized car tag. Officers tracked the car to a home in the 2400 block of West Newell. Police tried several times to contact the owners by knocking on the door and making phone calls.

"We had received some information from family members that they thought that their phones were not working.  And so we thought that that was perhaps why they weren't answering the phone.  Why they didn't answer the door, I don't know," said Lt. Lori Marceau.

After receiving a warrant, SWAT team officers pulled into the driveway with a large armored vehicle. A negotiator, using a loudspeaker, was able to talk someone into opening the door. Police made their way inside and took three people, including Costa and Palacios, into custody. The third person was later released.

Neighbors were relieved to have the whole thing over with.

"I know that I don't want that kind of conflict or anything like that in the neighborhood that I'm in," said Pore.  "It's not safe for anybody and it's not safe for our kids."

Standoff ends after drive-thru incident.