TOPEKA (KSNT) – A judge has sentenced a man to prison after a local jury found him guilty of charges tied to a 2024 deadly shooting in Topeka.
A Shawnee County judge sentenced Du’Jontez J. J. Owens, 26, of Topeka, to life in prison without the possibility of parole until he has served 51 years and eight months. The court ordered the sentences for several counts that involved criminal discharge of a firearm to run consecutively while all other sentences were ordered to run concurrently. A jury convicted Du’Jontez Owens of 20 separate charges earlier this year.
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said the charges stem from the 2024 fatal shooting of Ricky R. Washington Jr., the attempted murder of another person and a series of related violent crimes in Topeka. Du’Jontez Owens’ charges included:
- First-degree premeditated murder
- Attempted first-degree premeditated murder
- Conspiracy to commit murder
- Three counts of criminal discharge at an occupied vehicle
- Multiple counts of criminal discharge of a firearm at occupied and unoccupied dwellings
- Criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Aggravated battery
- Interference with law enforcement
Mugshot of Du’Jontez Owens. (Photo Courtesy/Shawnee County Department of Corrections)
Officers with the Topeka Police Department responded to reports of a shooting around 9 a.m. on Nov. 10, 2024, in the 1200 block of Southwest Huntoon Street. Law enforcement arriving at the scene found two people suffering from life-threatening injuries. Medical personnel declared one man, later identified as Washington, dead at the scene.
Topeka police arrested Du’Jontez Owens a few days after the shooting. Deputies in Saline County arrested a second suspect, Demari Owens, 20, of Salina, in connection to the death of Washington. Prosecutors charged both men in connection in the deadly shooting.
A Shawnee County jury convicted Du’Jontez Owens on July 10 this year.
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A separate jury found Demari Owens guilty on June 26. Demari Owens was sentenced on Aug. 12 to life in prison without the possibility of parole until 50 years have been served.
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