Lafian Berryman, a 30-year-old Black man, was shot on the evening of June 19, 2018, in the 2600 block of East 21st Street in Wichita after a confrontation that began when two vehicles pulled into a parking lot. Witnesses told police a heated argument broke out between Berryman and a woman in his car; another man sat in a parked truck. Berryman exited his vehicle, exchanged words with the man in the truck, and a single gunshot followed. Officers found Berryman wounded in a vehicle just after 7 p.m.; he was taken to a hospital and died.

The man in the truck was identified that night as 30-year-old Leon Tony Dukes Jr. He left the scene, called 911, then returned and was taken into custody. Investigators interviewed multiple witnesses and examined messages and testimony that described a fraught prelude, including a prior relationship between Dukes and the woman who had been with Berryman. Physical evidence and witness accounts focused on what happened as Berryman returned toward his car and the truck began to pull away.

The district court ruled Dukes had acted with a reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary and granted him immunity under Kansas law; the Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling in 2021. No conviction resulted from Berryman’s killing.

Did anyone in Wichita see the parking lot encounter or know more about Berryman’s movements that evening?