Man injured in Ark City shooting, 3 arrested after chase

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Arkansas City Police Department reported making three arrests in connection with a Thursday afternoon shooting in the city that injured one man. A little after 2:40 p.m., officers responded to the 700 block of South A Street and the report of a possible shooting.

At the scene, police said, officers found a 35-year-old Wichita man in the street with gunshot wounds to his lower body. Police said EMS took the injured man to the South Central Kansas Medical Center in Ark City. He was later transported to a Wichita hospital for further treatment.

“At about the same time as the initial call, officers were made aware of a blue Dodge Durango leaving the scene at a high rate of speed. Initial reports indicated that the suspect was possibly leaving the scene in that vehicle,” police said.

Officers found the suspect vehicle and attempted to make a stop when it sped off and led officers on a chase south of Ark City limits. Police said the suspect vehicle eventually crashed about three miles west of US 77 in Oklahoma. Police arrested a 21-year-old Miguel Juan Martinez, of Ark City, at that scene. Martinez was taken to the Kay County, Okla. Jail pending extradition to Kansas, Ark City police said.

Police then arrested 31-year-old Chance James Jackson and 20-year-old Fernando Jesus Rodriguez, both of Ark City, at a home near where officers found the wounded man. Both men are in the Cowley County Jail, Jackson on chargers of aggravated battery, aggravated child endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm in the city, and criminal damage to property. Police said Rodriguez is held on an active warrant, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

“Further charges may be filed to the Cowley County Attorney’s Office as the investigation continues in the coming days,” Ark City police said.