WICHITA, Kan. - The Wichita Police Department, working with law enforcement partners across the region, has arrested 21-year-old Juan Valenzuela-Silva in connection with the shooting deaths of his father, mother, and sister at a home in east Wichita.
On Sept. 26 at 11:29 a.m., Sedgwick County Emergency Communications received an open-line 911 call. The caller initially did not respond to dispatchers but shortly afterward reported that people had been shot at a residence in the 5000 block of East Blake Street.
Wichita police officers responded to the home, where they found three people who had been shot: 49-year-old Juan Valenzuela-Ayala, 40-year-old Brenda Silva-Cervantes and 25-year-old Daisy Valenzuela. Three others inside the home, a 17-year-old male, a 17-year-old female and a 2-year-old female, were not injured.
The preliminary investigation identified Juan Valenzuela-Silva as the suspect and determined he had left the residence in a 2014 Infiniti QX60.
Investigators entered the vehicle information into the FLOCK Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system and received information indicating the vehicle was traveling south out of the Wichita area possibly toward Oklahoma.
Once investigators verified the suspect and vehicle information, WPD released it to the public, along with an image of the vehicle captured by the FLOCK system earlier that day before the shooting.
WPD also quickly coordinated with regional law enforcement partners. Through WPD's three-agency partnership with the Kansas Highway Patrol and Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office, the Kansas Highway Patrol Air Support Unit was notified and launched to assist in locating the vehicle. WPD also shared information with the Cowley County Sheriff's Office, Butler County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Kay County Sheriff's Office in Oklahoma.
Additional FLOCK alerts later indicated the vehicle was now traveling toward Butler County. A Butler County sheriff's deputy located the vehicle, and, with assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol Air Support Unit, deputies conducted a traffic stop south of Augusta.
Valenzuela-Silva was taken into custody without incident and transferred to the custody of the Wichita Police Department.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy for a family that lost three loved ones in a single act of violence,” Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said. “From the moment our officers arrived, their first priority was making sure the 2-year-old and the two teenagers inside the home were safe. From there, our focus turned to finding the person responsible and taking that individual into custody as quickly and safely as possible. Our investigators, officers and law enforcement partners worked together across jurisdictional lines, using every resource available including Flock ALPR to locate and arrest the suspect within hours. I am grateful for the work of our personnel and our partners who responded without hesitation. Most importantly, our thoughts remain with the family members and loved ones who are grieving an extraordinary loss.”
Valenzuela-Silva was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on requested charges of capital murder. The case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office for formal charging this week.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call WPD detectives at 316-268-4407 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.