A Sedgwick County jury convicted Roames Bonner, 20, of first-degree murder Monday, Sept. 21, for a 2024 drive-by shooting that killed 1-year-old Taidyn Anderson in Wichita.
Bonner was also found guilty of two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of criminal discharge of a firearm, KWCH reported, citing the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office.
The charges stem from a Feb. 19, 2024, shooting at approximately 7:20 p.m. in the 2500 block of South Oliver. Someone fired multiple rounds into an apartment, striking three people inside, according to a Wichita Police Department press release issued at the time.
Anderson was pronounced dead. Court documents identified the child as Blair Jobe. Two 24-year-old women suffered critical but non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Three other people inside the apartment, including a 5-year-old girl and a 10-month-old girl, were not hit.
Bonner is the second person convicted in the case. Co-defendant K'veion Richard was sentenced to life in prison in April 2025 for his role in Anderson's death, according to KWCH. Richard remains incarcerated at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.
A third defendant, Jonathan Tillery-Matthias, faces charges including first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled to begin in March 2027.
Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan called the shooting "an unspeakable tragedy" in a department statement issued Feb. 19, 2024, the day after Anderson was killed. "Our children should be cherished and protected, not subjected to such senseless acts," Sullivan said at the time.
On Feb. 22, 2024, police arrested three suspects on felony murder charges. One of the suspects was on pretrial supervision for criminal discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle. Another was on parole for criminal discharge of a firearm, aggravated burglary, aggravated assault and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the WPD arrest announcement.
Sedgwick County District Court Judge Jeffrey Goering is scheduled to sentence Bonner on Friday, Nov. 13.
Anyone with information about violent crime in Wichita can contact the Wichita Police Department at 316-268-4407 or Crime Stoppers at 316-267-2111.
