Jury convicts Wichita man of murdering pregnant woman killed in Central & Ridge crash

A Sedgwick County jury deliberated for around two hours Thursday before convicting a Wichita man of multiple crimes, including murder, in the July 6, 2021, crash death of 22-year-old expectant mother Samantha Russell.

Javan Jermaine Ervin, 39, faces life in prison plus the possibility of additional time when he is sentenced July 26 by Sedgwick County District Judge Tyler Roush. Jurors handed down guilty verdicts on a total of seven counts: first-degree felony murder and second-degree unintentional but reckless murder, both for Russell’s death; the aggravated battery of another driver who was injured in the crash; fleeing from or attempting to elude police; criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; leaving the scene of an accident; and driving while his driver’s license was suspended.

The jury acquitted Ervin of a second count of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to evidence at trial, police found two handguns in the truck Ervin used to flee from officers, which he was barred from having after being convicted in a prior case.

Russell, a Realtor and jewelry creator, was eight months pregnant with her first child when a truck Ervin was driving while fleeing from police barreled through a stoplight at Central and Ridge around 5 p.m., during weekday afternoon rush-hour traffic. He slammed into other vehicles and flipped the truck — leaving in his wake what witnesses and police this week described as “total destruction,” shock and confusion — before running off.

Police eventually found him hiding in a nearby apartment complex’s clubhouse and arrested him, according to trial testimony.

Russell, who was in a Mazda CX-3 waiting to turn at the intersection, died from her injuries, but doctors were able to deliver her baby about 35 minutes after the collision. The child, a boy named Mac, will turn two years old on July 6, the second anniversary of his mother’s death.

Russell’s husband, Brandon Russell, said Thursday after the trial ended that his son is doing well but continues to deal with developmental delays caused by several minutes of oxygen deprivation before his birth following the collision. He was delivered about a month before his due date.

Mac, now a curly-haired grinning toddler with big brown eyes, was at the courthouse Thursday with his father and grandmother, Lischen Castorena. He cooed and played as they spoke with reporters.

“This little guy right here, he’s definitely been a big help in helping us cope. He’s the little thing we hang onto now — and have been,” Brandon Russell said, adding that Mac is joyful, like his mom.

Brandon Russell said Ervin’s convictions will help give him and his wife’s family “a sense of closure.”

“The verdict was warranted, 100%.” Hearing the word “guilty” so many times “definitely relieved a lot of pressure,” he said.

Castorena thanked prosecutors for their work on the case, which she said “helps bring justice for Samantha.”

Brandon Russell said he wants Ervin to spend the rest of his life in prison, “as much as the law will allow.”

In Kansas, the presumptive sentence for a first-degree felony murder conviction is life without parole for 25 years.

“This entire trial the defendant had zero remorse. He showed no signs of sympathy for anything that he did. And it really got to me,” Brandon Russell said.

Although Ervin was convicted of two different types of murder, he will only be sentenced for first-degree murder because it is the more-severe charge. Roush, the judge, will decide whether Ervin must serve sentences imposed for his other convictions concurrent or consecutive to the life sentence.

Ervin, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, was clearly unhappy with the jury’s guilty verdicts; Thursday afternoon he refused to sign required paperwork and cursed at spectators sitting in the courtroom gallery, including Russell’s family, as deputies escorted him out.

His defense team did not comment on the verdict.

The verdicts came after jurors heard more than two days of testimony, evidence and statements from attorneys who argued not only over whether Ervin was guilty but also his level of responsibility for the crash.

Prosecutors contended Ervin acted with complete and ongoing disregard for the law and public safety, while Ervin’s lawyers suggested the crash might have never happened had police made different choices that day.

But that operation took a turn when the robbery suspect got into the truck with Ervin around the same time 911 dispatchers received an emergency call from the WoodSpring Suites hotel near Maple and Ridge, where the robbery suspect had been staying.

Police, Mulloy testified, thought the robbery suspect had been involved in the disturbance and decided to try to arrest him during a traffic stop after he got into the truck.

The robbery suspect ended up getting out at a nearby Kwik Shop gas station while Ervin waited in the truck.

When officers descended on the area, police pulled a gun and ordered Ervin to stay put. But instead of following commands, he drove over a curb and sidewalk and sped off northbound on Ridge.

According to testimony, officers pursued Ervin but quickly called off the chase due to the amount of traffic.

The deadly crash happened moments later.

Sedgwick County Assistant District Attorney Aaron Breitenbach said during his closing arguments that Ervin drove at highway speeds, never braked and showed no regard for other drivers.

“He basically turned his truck into a cannon ball,” he said, asking jurors to find Ervin guilty on all counts.

In his remarks to jurors, defense attorney Philip White argued the crash wouldn’t have happened had police arrested the robbery suspect and left Ervin alone.

“All they had to do was go into the Kwik Shop, place cuffs on him (the robbery suspect), put him in the police car and drive away,” he said.

Ervin might be guilty of some counts, like driving while suspended, leaving the accident scene and a lesser vehicular homicide or involuntary manslaughter charge, “but the evidence does not support felony murder,” White said.

Ervin’s trial, which started Monday in Roush’s courtroom, was his second in the case. The first, in May, ended in a mistrial after the judge learned a juror had shared information about the crash gleaned from news articles with other members of the jury after they were told not to discuss the case.

That juror was later charged with contempt of court.