TOPEKA, Kan. — Nearly five months after a shooting left one man dead and a woman injured in southeast Topeka, prosecutors have filed murder charges against a 20-year-old man who was already incarcerated on an unrelated case.
Wynston Amarion James Rice, 20, has been charged in Shawnee County District Court in connection with the May 16, 2026, shooting death of Thomas J.D. Brown III, 31.
According to Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay, prosecutors filed charges against Rice on October 7, including intentional second-degree murder, aggravated battery and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The charges follow an investigation into a shooting in the 2300 block of SE Bellview Avenue.
When Topeka police responded to the scene on May 16, officers discovered Brown deceased. An adult woman was also injured in the shooting and transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
Murder charges filed months after shooting
Although the shooting occurred in May, Rice was not formally charged in the homicide until October.
Authorities confirmed that Rice was already incarcerated on an unrelated matter when prosecutors filed the new charges. The warrant in the murder case was served on October 13.
Rice is being held on a $1 million bond in connection with the homicide prosecution.
The district attorney’s announcement did not publicly establish what led to the shooting, whether Rice and Brown knew one another or what evidence resulted in charges being filed nearly five months after the killing.
The injured woman’s identity has not been publicly disclosed in the reporting reviewed.
The filing marks a significant development in a homicide investigation that has remained unresolved publicly since May.
Rice faces formal criminal charges, but those allegations have not been proven in court. He is presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
This Is Topeka will continue following the prosecution, including upcoming court proceedings and any additional details released about the circumstances surrounding Brown’s death.
