A Sedgwick County judge on Friday sentenced a Wichita man to more than 56 years in prison for killing a couple last year during a drug-related argument at an East Side motel.
John A. Griffin III, 22, entered an Alford plea in October to charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the shooting deaths of Christopher Harrell, 35, and Natisha Phillips, 35, at the Blue Way Inn & Suites, 7321 E. Kellogg Ave., Wichita.
He was also convicted of two counts of aggravated battery for causing injuries to two other people, according to a news release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.
An Alford plea is a plea that allows a defendant to remain innocent while acknowledging that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to likely win a conviction.
Court records show Griffin had been living with the Wichita couple at a motel and selling illegal drugs out of the room when a fight broke out on Feb. 24, 2024. Griffin reportedly shot the couple while struggling with Harrell for the couple’s gun and then fled the room, leaving their toddler son unharmed.
Phillips was shot in the head and died in an ambulance in the motel parking lot. Harrell died at the hospital from a gunshot wound to the neck.
Court records show both Harrell and Griffin were high on methamphetamine at the time of the shooting.
In addition to serving 673 months in prison, Griffin must pay approximately $8,500 in restitution, the district attorney’s news release said. Sedgwick County District Judge Tyler Roush imposed the sentence.
John A. Griffin III
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