WICHITA —The man charged with contempt at the start of a recent murder trial in Sedgwick County pled guilty Tuesday morning, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.
On April 25, District Judge Tyler Roush charged Kyle Wissner, 22 of Haysville, with contempt for violating his orders to not discuss the Javan Ervin case.
Wissner was on the jury for a case involving Ervin who fled police when his pickup was involved in a four-vehicle crash that killed a pregnant Kansas woman, Samantha Russell. Wissner talked with other jurors about news media coverage of the case.
After hearing from other jurors about what Wissner did, Judge Roush found him in contempt and ordered a mistrial.
By state statute, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office prosecutes all contempt cases. The prosecutor Monday was Deputy Attorney General Vic Braden.
Wissner pled guilty to criminal contempt, a misdemeanor. District Judge Sean Hatfield sentenced him to a year of probation with an underlying sentence of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Braden said when the defendant pays the $500 to District Court and court costs, he will be released from probation and the case will be closed.
On June 8, a jury found Ervin guilty of 1st degree murder in the traffic death of Samantha Russell at Central and Ridge Road in Wichita. Judge Roush is scheduled to sentence Ervin on July 26.
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