In the late hours of a February night in Wichita, Kansas, the life of Terry Wayne McNett, a 36-year-old Caucasian male, was brought to a sudden and violent end. It was February 2, 1988, just before midnight, when Detective McNett and his fellow officers with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office narcotics unit arrived at a residence on North Piatt Street to execute a search warrant.
Assigned to a Drug Enforcement Administration task force, McNett was a dedicated officer with nine years of service to the sheriff's office.
As the team of detectives made their entry, the situation inside the house escalated quickly. The main suspect, upon hearing the officers, retreated into the kitchen. Detective McNett was the one to enter the kitchen to secure the room. In that critical moment, a man hiding within the home fired a single shot from a. 357 Magnum, striking McNett. The wound was instantly fatal.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the suspect emerged from the kitchen and fired at other deputies. The officers returned fire, wounding the man in both legs. After a brief standoff, the injured suspect was taken into custody. Another individual was also found in the kitchen and arrested. The man who fired the fatal shot later claimed he believed the officers were robbers.
The shooter was subsequently convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. In 1989, he was sentenced to a lengthy prison term, with sources differing on the exact length, citing between 103 and 330 years. He also faced additional drug charges in Colorado. The other person present in the kitchen initially faced a murder charge, but it was later dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea to conspiracy and possession charges.
