WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - A Sedgwick County judge has dropped both charges against a man accused of murder on Father's Day last year.

Eric Gonzales-Gutierrez was accused of one count of murder in the first degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

The judge dropped the criminal possession charge on Tuesday without prejudice, meaning the charge could be filed again. Last month, the judge dropped the murder charge under K.S.A. 21-5222(b), saying Gonzales-Gutierrez acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 28-year-old Aron Lara during a Father's Day cookout in June 2024.

Court documents show the shooting stemmed from a prior incident and that Gonzales-Gutierrez's "intent was to try to de-escalate" a new incident involving his friends, and he so

See Full Page