TOPEKA, Kan. — A 23-year-old Topeka man is being held on a $1.5 million bond in connection with the shooting death of 18-year-old Joshua A. Stockman, according to police and Shawnee County booking records.
Erwin Tyrone Lockridge Jr. was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections at 1:50 a.m. Saturday, August 29, jail records show.
Lockridge was booked on a warrant alleging intentional and premeditated first-degree murder and criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling. Both allegations are associated with warrant number 2026-69184 and carry a listed $1.5 million bond.
The arrest represents a major development in a homicide investigation that began less than a week earlier.
18-year-old found dead on SE 23rd
Topeka Police were called shortly after 12:05 a.m. Sunday, August 23, to the 2300 block of SE 23rd Street following a report of a shooting.
Officers found Stockman unresponsive at the scene. He was pronounced dead, and police subsequently identified the 18-year-old as the victim. Authorities began investigating his death as a homicide.
Police announced Lockridge’s arrest six days later.
Booking record reveals additional allegations
Lockridge’s latest booking also includes a second warrant, 2026-69124, carrying a listed $75,000 bond.
That warrant includes allegations of:
- criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling;
- felony criminal damage to property;
- aggravated endangering a child involving a child under 18; and
- aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The booking record does not, by itself, establish whether the allegations under the second warrant stem from the Stockman homicide or a separate incident. That distinction will likely become clearer as court records and charging documents become available.
Lockridge remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
The combination of the murder allegation and the separate warrant also raises additional questions about the circumstances surrounding Lockridge’s arrest and whether investigators are examining other alleged incidents involving gunfire.
This Is Topeka will continue following the case as additional court filings and information from investigators become available.
