Second and final suspect in killing arrested after standoff with SWAT, Wichita police say

The second and final person wanted in the killing of a Wichita man whose body was found in rural Sumner County was arrested Thursday after a multi-hour standoff at an apartment near Harry and Parkwood, Wichita police spokesperson Trevor Macy said.

Saul Chavez-Valenciana surrendered peacefully after talking with negotiators, Macy said. Valenciana was booked into jail on suspicion of intentional and premeditated first-degree murder, theft and burglary.

Valenciana was wanted in the killing of 41-year-old Brent Boone, whose body was found more than 25 miles from his Wichita home in an area about five miles southwest of Clearwater. Police said on Dec. 2 that they were looking for 31-year-old Valenciana and 19-year-old Tehya Kay Turner, both of Wichita, in connection to the killing.

Turner was arrested Dec. 3 on suspicion of intentional and premeditated first-degree murder, burglary and possession of marijuana.

The standoff Thursday started with a tip about a car Valenciana was driving. Around 12:09 p.m., police spotted the car at Wilma and Bluffview, which is close to Harry and about a mile from where the standoff later occurred. The driver, 35-year-old Jeremy Michael Moen of Wichita, crashed about a mile east of there at Harry and Pinecrest and tried to run before being arrested, Macy said.

Moen was arrested on suspicion of seven traffic violations including fleeing and eluding police during a pursuit, driving with license canceled, suspended or revoked and violating parole.

Moen has been in and out of prison the last 15 years and has more than 120 disciplinary reports during that time. He was last released from Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility in September, Kansas Department of Corrections records show.

After arresting Moen, police learned Valenciana was at an apartment one-tenth of a mile away.

Neighboring homes were evacuated.

SWAT and other officers surrounded the apartment and watched intently with their guns drawn. An armored vehicle was brought to the scene. The bomb squad was also brought in after a tip about explosives, though that ended up not being true.

Negotiators were able to talk Valenciana into surrendering around 3:23 p.m.

Valenciana is the second suspect in the killing of Boone.

Boone was last seen Nov. 24 leaving his home in the 1300 block of North Pershing and got into a vehicle with Valenciana and Turner. Police said an “altercation occurred inside the car, during which Boone was killed.” Police have not said a motive in the killing.

The vehicle was found abandoned Dec. 1 near 21st and Ridge.

Valenciana was sentenced to a year of probation in 2018 on cases of domestic battery, criminal threat and criminal restraint in Sedgwick County, Kansas Department of Corrections records show. He also was arrested on December 2021 on suspicion of aggravated battery, though court records don’t show any charges in that case.

Turner was arrested three times this year on allegations that include criminal use of a gun by someone addicted to or using drugs, and fleeing and eluding and drug possession/distribution, records show. She hasn’t been charged in any of the cases, according to court records.