Baldwin ? Gunshots broke up a birthday party early Saturday in a quiet Baldwin neighborhood, killing an Olathe man and sending shock waves through the small community south of Lawrence.

Alvin Sanchez, 27, was pronounced dead Saturday afternoon at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., after being shot at least once in the head and several times in the body, Baldwin Police Chief Mike McKenna said.

A 25-year-old suspect was in custody in Oklahoma after being arrested in connection with the shooting, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

“It’s an unfortunate event,” McKenna said.

McKenna said Sanchez had been shot several times with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, which investigators found at the scene – a Friday night birthday party at 109 Hillside Drive.

Douglas County Dist. Atty. Charles Branson said Saturday evening that his office would prepare to file first-degree murder charges in what appeared to be an argument among friends gone awry.

‘Typical’ shooting scene

Violence broke out around 2:15 a.m. Saturday after two men began arguing late into a party at the residence of Rufino Espinales, a painter who recently moved to Baldwin.

The argument, police say, focused on Sanchez’s wife, and was apparently fueled by alcohol. McKenna said the suspect was there with friends for the party.

Eventually, the argument fizzled out and the scene calmed. The suspect left for some period of time, McKenna said.

Then the suspect returned to the house with a gun, walked into the kitchen and fired several shots at Sanchez.

“It was very typical of every shooting scene,” McKenna said. “Everyone was quite excited.”

The suspect then fled on foot, leaving Rufino Espinales and others there with Sanchez. Three young children were also in the house; McKenna said they likely were asleep during the shooting.

As police and medical crews arrived at the house, the alleged shooter contacted his girlfriend and asked to use her vehicle, McKenna said.

The vehicle was found around midday Saturday traveling south on Interstate 35 near Oklahoma mile marker 52, where Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers there arrested the suspect.

‘Not the Baldwin I know’

The commotion that included a medical helicopter didn’t wake up Eric Toot and his family early Saturday, which surprised him considering they live across the street from the Espinales home.

“I was really disappointed that something like that could happen not only on our street, but in our town. It’s pretty rare for this city,” Toot said.

109 Hillside Dr. Baldwin, KS

Toot, who grew up in Baldwin, teaches at the junior high school and is an assistant coach for the Baker University women’s basketball team. He said he didn’t really know his neighbors across the street, who moved in about a year ago.

Another neighbor, retiree Clay Chapman, said the Espinales family “didn’t bother anybody.”

Business carried on quietly Saturday afternoon in the city.

Scott Morgan, who said he had lived near Baldwin his whole life, sat in Macke Laundry on Ames Street and called the incident “totally out of character” for the place.

“I think the town is just generally mortified,” he said.

Sandy Collins stocked shelves during her shift as assistant manager at Dollar General, 110 Eighth St. Collins said she and her family live near where the incident happened. She talked about the events with customers and friends Saturday. It had some in the city shocked, scared and asking questions, she said.

“Things like that don’t happen in Baldwin – not the Baldwin I know,” Collins said. “It’s just too close to home.”

‘Surprised, disappointed’

Baldwin Mayor Gary Walbridge heard the news Saturday morning when he popped into his office as Baker University, where he is director of the university’s physical plant.

Walbridge said as of Saturday afternoon, he had received no calls from concerned residents. The shooting is the most serious crime incident the city has experienced in recent years.

He said it may be a wake-up call for Baldwin, which has seen its population grow thanks to various home construction and other projects. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Baldwin’s population was estimated at 3,664 people in 2004.

“It’s disturbing, and it’s alarming that it happened, but I guess it shows that’s the pain that we go through as we grow,” Walbridge said.

The mayor also expressed his confidence in the police department that consists of eight officers and McKenna, a former detective with the Wichita Police Department.

The neighbors, Toot and Chapman, said they considered it an isolated incident over a heated argument at a party.

“If it was a break-in, that’d be different,” Toot said.

That a suspect was in custody by midday Saturday also brought some relief.

“It makes me feel a lot better,” Collins said.

In a news release Saturday evening, McKenna said no further information would be available until Monday.