Trial begins Monday in shooting that killed football player

March 13, 2022 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Trial begins Monday for a man accused in a 2019 shooting in Kansas that killed a college football player and wounded a teammate of the victim, a man who now plays in the NFL.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Francisco Mendez is the only person arrested and charged in the case even though a prosecutor said at least three guns were used to fire 18 or more shots in the April 28, 2019, shooting.

Washburn University football player Dwane Simmons, 23, was killed in the shooting in Topeka. Corey Ballentine was shot and survived.

Mendez is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Simmons. He died at the scene from a single gunshot to the head.

Mendez is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Ballentine, 25, who had been drafted hours earlier by the New York Giants.

Ballentine was shot once in the buttocks. He has played as a cornerback and kick returner with the Giants, New York Jets and Detroit Lions, and signed in January with the Atlanta Falcons.