Rapper murdered in walk-up shooting

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - On April 9, 2017, shots rang out at a house party in south Wichita. Detectives say there was more than one victim, but one of them would die.

“We had numerous neighbors calling in shots fired,” Wichita Police Detective Addie Perkins explained. “There was one male with gunshot wounds.”

That man was James Walker III. By all accounts, he was a big man with a big personality. It was something he often showcased as an aspiring rapper, who went by the name Montana YG.

“One of his nicknames that I was told was Montana because he was as big as Montana,” Detective Perkins said. “He had just arrived at this party not very long prior to the shooting. He knew people here, people knew him. So he was, what I believe, welcomed at this gathering.”

James’ sister Ebony Walker says her brother’s dream of becoming a rapper started early. He liked to drum his fingers on the table, as she said, annoying the people around him. She remembers it fondly now.

“Yeah, he was really good. He from a very young age. He had it in him,” Ebony said.

Ebony says the news her brother had been shot came as a shock, but the news he did not survive was simply inconceivable.

“Here I am listening to this woman tell me that my brother’s gone, and I’m looking at my mother and my father,” she explained. “You can’t tell me that. I can’t accept that. Like, ‘Y’all got to figure it out because, you know, we’re not coming up out of here without him,’ you know?”

One year turned into another, and now five years later, Ebony says it’s still too much for her. Made even worse as she watches her parents wait to find some justice for their son.

“My parents...they gave me the world, they gave him the world, my brother, and they just don’t deserve to still be looking for justice for their son.”

Police don’t believe James was the intended target that night as two or three men walked up on the front yard of the house party where James was and opened fire. They do believe they may know who the killers are though. They just need to speak to someone else who knows them too.

“We have some ideas of who are the possible suspects, but we need just a few more people even just one more witness to come forward to make us able to take that next step in this case,” Perkins said.

Detective Perkins says investigators received very little cooperation from the people who saw James get shot that night in 2017, but she knows people saw it and she wants to sit down with those people to get these killers put away so they don’t kill again.

If you have information on the murder of James (Montana YG) Walker III, you can submit your information here.

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