A Wichita man was found guilty on Thursday for his role in a 2021 crash that killed a 22-year-old pregnant woman.
A Sedgwick County jury found 39-year-old Javan Ervin guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Samantha Russell of Wichita. Russell was 33 weeks pregnant at the time. Doctors were able deliver and save Russell’s son.
Ervin was also found guilty of second-degree murder, aggravated battery, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement, criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, leaving the scene of an injury accident and driving with a suspended or revoked license.
The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office explained Ervin will only be sentenced for first-degree murder as the murder counts (first and second-degree) were “alternative counts.”
The crash happened on July 6th, 2021. Police were investigating robberies in west Wichita when they got into a brief chase with a truck. The chase was called off but the truck continued on until the crash at Central and Ridge. A 34-year-old man was arrested in connection with the robbery investigation.
A mistrial was initially declared in Ervin’s case back in April after a juror admitted to reading media coverage of the case and sharing the information with other jurors. The trial was then rescheduled for June 5th.
