On the afternoon of January 5, 2023, the life of Mareo Dupree, a 43-year-old Black man, was lost to gunfire in Wichita, Kansas. Police were dispatched to the 2300 block of North Piatt around 12:35 p.m. following reports of a shooting. When they arrived, officers found Mr. Dupree with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was conscious when first responders reached him and was transported to an area hospital, but he later succumbed to his injuries.
The subsequent investigation revealed that
the shooting was not a random act but the violent culmination of a feud over a drug debt. Authorities determined the dispute was between a man named Jamar White and the occupants of the residence where Mr. Dupree was located. The conflict had escalated to the point where White allegedly drove by the house multiple times, firing rounds at it. This action led to an exchange of gunfire in the neighborhood between White and another man at the house, Darries Mitchell. During the gunfight, several nearby homes were also struck by bullets.
While officers were still at the scene on North Piatt, 47-year-old Jamar White arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his upper body. He was soon identified as a suspect and arrested. Police also arrested 30-year-old Darries Mitchell, who had been at the residence with Mr. Dupree. Investigators stated it was unclear if Mr. Dupree was directly involved in the drug debt dispute. Following the arrests, White was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of criminal discharge of a firearm. Mitchell was charged with two counts of criminal discharge of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon.
Jamar White later pleaded guilty to amended charges of voluntary manslaughter and criminal discharge of a firearm. A judge in Sedgwick County District Court sentenced him to 107 months in prison for the manslaughter conviction, which was to run concurrently with a 61-month sentence for the weapons charge. With the conviction and sentencing of the man responsible for his death, the case is considered resolved.
