got started. A shame and now the number 4 homicide forour city.
Topeka teenager is latest homicide victim:
CJOnline - Topeka teenager is latest homicide victim
By Phil Anderson
The Capital-Journal
Published Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. CDT
Residents in the 2400 block of S.E. Minnesota were jolted out of their sleep early Thursday when a succession of gunshots shattered the quietness of the spring night.
2004 File Photos/The Capital-Journal
Topeka police identified 17-year-old Farrell Sanders, left, as the city's latest homicide victim. He was found shot early today in the backyard of a Highland Park residence and pronounced dead at the scene. In this photo, a 13-year-old Sanders and Assante Boyd, 11, play at a Big Brothers Big Sisters picnic. Boyd had been matched with a Big Brother for two years, about the same amount of time Sanders had been on the agency's waiting list.Several residents said they took cover and called 911 about 2 a.m., just after the shots were heard. A few minutes later, Topeka police arrived and searched the area but couldn't find a victim, the neighbors said.
But when someone started a car and turned on the headlights, a person could be seen lying in the grass in the backyard of a house near 2415 S.E. Minnesota.
Another 911 call was made. This time, police and emergency responders found the victim, who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police identified the victim as Farrell Sanders, 17, a junior at Highland Park High School.
Sanders became the city's fourth homicide victim of 2008.
His death followed by less than four days the slaying of David Wakes, 25, who was killed in a drive-by shooting Sunday afternoon in the 2800 block of S.E. Michigan.
The two homicides this week are only about six blocks apart in the Highland Park area.
No arrests have been made in either slaying.
Algie Taylor-Grays, 65, who lives in a home near where Sanders' body was found, said she could hear shots coming from different directions behind her house.
She said she "rolled off the couch" on which she was sleeping and called 911 while lying on the floor.
"It needs to stop," Taylor-Grays said. "I'm sure it's gang-related. I'm sure of that. It will go on and on if these guys don't stop it."
Police spokesman Maj. John Sidwell said detectives were following 20 leads late Thursday afternoon with more to be investigated.
Sidwell said it was too early in the investigation to determine whether Sanders' shooting was gang-related or if it was connected to Wakes' killing.
Dale Cushinberry, principal of Highland Park High School, said the mood in the hallways was "sober" Thursday.
Cushinberry said members of the school's crisis and leadership teams were mobilized in a "recovery room" after news of the Sanders' death. Counselors and social workers met with students during the day.
Cushinberry said Sanders attended Highland Park as a freshman and Topeka High School as a sophomore before returning to Highland Park this year.
"He wasn't a disruptive student," Cushinberry said. "He always had a pleasant, upbeat personality. He was well-liked by a lot of students."
Tahaj James, a 16-year-old Highland Park sophomore, said Sanders was a "good person."
"Everybody in our school liked him," James said. "Everybody was hurt by his loss today."
Victims of the city's two other homicides this year were:
• Michael Holley, 24, of Topeka, who was shot to death early Feb. 23 in his car in the parking lot of the Deep Pockets pool hall, 4310 S.W. 21st. No arrests have been made.
• Albert L. Conley, 30, who was shot to death early April 12 outside the Mahogany Lounge, 1307 S.W. Huntoon. Police arrested Timothy D. Arterberry, 17, in connection with the slaying.
Anyone with information on Sanders' death or any of the city's other unsolved homicides may call detectives at (785) 368-9400
Anonymous tips may be left by calling Crime Stoppers at (785) 368-9400.
Phil Anderson can be reached at (785) 295-1195 or
phil.anderson@cjonline.com.