22-year-old convicted of murder in 2018 fatal Topeka shooting

A 22-year-old was convicted of murder and other crimes on Friday after a four-day trial this week in connection with a Topeka shooting homicide from January 2018.

Zachary Buck-Schrag was convicted in Shawnee County District Court in the killing of Travis Larsen, 37, on Jan. 14, 2018, in Topeka.

Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay in a news release said a Shawnee County jury returned a verdict of guilty on the following charges: murder in the first degree, committed during an inherently dangerous felony; an alternative charge of reckless second degree murder; criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle; aggravated assault; and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

After closing arguments wrapped up around 3 p.m. Friday, the jury deliberated until about 8:30 p.m. before returning the verdicts.

Kagay said a sentencing date hasn't been set.

Buck-Schrag faces a presumptive life sentence for the first-degree murder charge, which requires 25 years before he is eligible for parole, Kagay said.

Authorities responded to a shots fired call in January 2018 near the intersection of S.W. 22nd Park and Mulvane, just south of Washburn University.

Upon arrival, law enforcement found a vehicle that had left the roadway and was sitting near a tree line alongside the road.

Topeka police officers then located Larsen in the vehicle. He was suffering from a gunshot wound and was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

Buck-Schrag was identified as a person of interest in the homicide and was arrested the next day after he turned himself in to the Lawrence Police Department.

Buck-Schrag contended the shooting was in self defense.