Riley County Police have arrested a Manhattan man in connection to a weekend homicide investigation
Officers have charged 29-year-old Erick Sanchez with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and criminal threat in connection to the death of 36-year-old Mark Rickenbaker. Sanchez was brought into custody just after 8 p.m. Monday and remains jailed in Riley County on a $1 million bond.
Police began their investigation a little after midnight on Saturday in the 800 block of Colorado Street for a reported welfare check. Officers located Rickenbaker suffering from serious injuries. He died later at a local hospital from his injuries. An investigation has determined Rickenbaker was involved in an altercation before police arrived.
Further details surrounding his death have not been provided.
Online records show Rickenbaker was released from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility on Nov. 6 after serving more than two years for an April 2023 conviction for aggravated battery and criminal possession of a weapon in a 2022 incident in Manhattan. Online records also list numerous criminal charges dating back to 2009 in both Riley and Pottawatomie counties.
Online court records show Sanchez has three previous convictions in Riley County District Court, including a felony drug conviction from 2023.
