Crime

KCK man convicted of killing woman in shooting at Leavenworth apartment building

Leavenworth County District Court is seen in a 2018 Google Maps Street View image.
Leavenworth County District Court is seen in a 2018 Google Maps Street View image. Google Maps

A Kansas City, Kansas, man was convicted of first-degree murder in Leavenworth County District Court Tuesday for a July shooting that left a 20-year-old woman dead.

A jury found Jerell Dewayne Martin, 28, guilty in the slaying of Ericka Hopkins, according to Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson.

On July 15, just after midnight, officers responded to reports of gunshots at the Woodland Village Apartments in Leavenworth and found Hopkins suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.

Hopkins was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Surveillance video showed a gunman hiding at one end of an apartment building and firing multiple rounds at individuals at the other end. A bullet hit Hopkins, who was sitting on the stairs.

Police identified Martin as the shooter through witness accounts and surveillance video, according to Thompson.

Martin’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 20.

Jenna Thompson
The Kansas City Star
Jenna Thompson covers retail news for The Kansas City Star. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, she previously reported for the Lincoln Journal Star and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied journalism and English.
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