A Topeka man entered a guilty plea Friday in connection with a deadly shooting last year in the city's Oakland neighborhood that killed one man and left another critically wounded. Dalton Wolf Thompson pleaded guilty to charges tied to the September 2025 killing of Joseph Lee Kaberline, ending a case that had been headed toward a jury trial just this month.
According to wibw.com, Thompson entered his plea Friday in Shawnee County District Court in connection with the September 2025 homicide in the Oakland neighborhood. The outlet reports he also pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge in the case, while a separate aggravated battery charge was dismissed. Those pleas mark a sharp turn from January 2026, when Thompson had entered not guilty pleas to first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery, according to the same report.
What Happened in the Oakland Neighborhood
The shooting unfolded around 4:45 p.m. on September 4, 2025, in the 1000 block of Northeast Poplar Street near Oakland Billard Park, per the station's report. Two men were shot in the incident, and Joseph Lee Kaberline, 37, of Topeka, died at the scene, the outlet notes. The second man who was shot was transported to a hospital in critical condition, according to the same account.
Earlier coverage from KSNT 27 News described officers finding two men in the area suffering from life-threatening injuries, with one declared dead at the scene. Thompson was arrested shortly after the shooting, and The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that he remained in custody the following day as the investigation continued.
From Arrest to a Guilty Plea
Prosecutors formally filed charges against Thompson on September 9, 2025, less than a week after the shooting. The case then moved through the courts for more than a year before culminating in Friday's guilty plea, a timeline laid out in the wibw.com report.
Thompson, who is either 28 or 29 years old depending on the report — KSNT 27 News has listed him as 29, while wibw.com's earlier coverage listed him as 28 at the time of his arrest — remains in the Shawnee County Jail on a $1 million bond, the station reports. He is scheduled for sentencing at 9:30 a.m. on November 23.
Kansas Law on the Charges
Under Kansas law, as defined by the Kansas State Legislature, second-degree murder is the killing of a human being committed under the circumstances set out in the statute. The same legislative body defines an attempt, under a separate statute, as an overt act toward committing a crime by a person who intends to commit it but fails to complete it or is prevented or intercepted while executing it, according to the Kansas State Legislature.
No sentence has yet been handed down, with that decision left for the November hearing. The terms of Thompson's plea agreement, along with the specific circumstances behind the amended and dismissed charges, have not been detailed in available court reporting.
