Shooting suspect shouldn't have had gun, court documents show
TOPEKA (KSNT) - Newly released court documents shed light on a recent shooting that left a man dead in a Topeka apartment.
Court documents released to KSNT 27 News from the Third Judicial District give additional details for the shooting death of Jason Neal, 48, of Topeka in January. Neal was allegedly murdered by Skyler Wilson in the early morning hours of Jan. 28. Wilson was later arrested and charged with first degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
The day of the shooting, police were called at 9:17 a.m. to an apartment in the 400 block of Southwest Tyler St. on a report of someone suffering from a gunshot wound. Neal was found at the scene and pronounced dead by investigators.
Court documents state that Neal was shot multiple times and that investigators located nine 9mm shell casings in the room where he was found. An autopsy performed on Neal on Jan. 30 in Kansas City found that Neal had several projectiles inside him that pierced vital organs, including his heart.
Investigators began collecting more information following the shooting by interviewing two witnesses that were allegedly inside the apartment just before the shooting happened, collecting video footage and executing two search warrants. The search warrant for Wilson's home resulted in the discovery of a shell casing just outside the entrance to the residence.
One witness told police Wilson was acting erratically the on the day of the shooting and was "threatening to kill his family," according to court documents. This made the witness uncomfortable to the point she left the home, leaving Neal, Wilson and another witness inside.
The second witness told police she left the apartment after the first witness to go stay with Wilson, according to court documents. She left the apartment and a short time later began hearing gunshots. The witness hid nearby and allegedly saw Wilson walk out of the area.
Investigators received reports from the National Integrated Ballistic Information network two days after the shooting which showed a correlation between the 9mm shell casing found at Wilson's home and those found at the apartment where Neal was killed, according to court documents. The correlation indicates that the shell casing found at Wilson's home was fired from the same weapon that left shell casings at the scene of the murder.
The court documents go on to say that Wilson had pled guilty in a separate case for burglary and felony theft but never showed up for sentencing. These crimes would prohibit Wilson from legally possessing a firearm until three months after he completes whatever he is sentenced to.
Wilson remains confined in the Shawnee County Department of Corrections with his next court appearance scheduled for March 16 at 2:30 p.m.