Friends and loved ones remembered Chavis Collins as a compassionate, unselfish, and thoughtful man, someone who could be humorous but also serious, a "light in a dark room." The 29-year-old Black / African American male worked for Solid Waste Management and had attended Highland Park in his hometown of Topeka, Kansas.
In the early hours of Saturday, February 8, 2025, his life was cut short.
Just after 1:00 a.m., Topeka police were called to a local hospital where Collins had been brought with a life-threatening gunshot wound. The shooting had occurred in the 1700 block of Southeast 23rd Street, where authorities later found evidence that multiple people had been inside a home involved in the incident. A short time after arriving at the hospital, Chavis Collins died from his injuries. His death was the city’s second homicide in two days.
The investigation into the shooting moved swiftly. Police identified a suspect, and on Monday, February 10, 23-year-old Desmond A. Lindsey of Topeka turned himself in to authorities. He was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections in connection with the killing.
On February 14, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Lindsey with a series of felonies, including first-degree murder, criminal discharge of a firearm into an occupied dwelling, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated endangering a child, and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The case concluded nearly a year later. On December 22, 2025, Desmond A. Lindsey, then 24, entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. As part of the agreement, the multiple other charges against him were dismissed. Lindsey’s sentencing was scheduled for March 6, 2026. As of the plea deal in December 2025, the case was considered resolved pending sentencing.
