CASPER — Nearly three months after a 47-year-old man was shot at a local park on the Fourth of July, an 18-year-old has been charged.
Adolfo Aceves was arrested Wednesday and made his initial appearance in Casper Circuit Court on Friday on a charge of aggravated assault and battery.
Aceves was arrested after the Casper Police Department learned he was traveling from Glenrock to Casper. They initiated a traffic stop off the interstate and arrested him without incident, the CPD reports.
Court records show the nearly three-month investigation included confidential witnesses and initial videos that did not clearly show the identity of the gunman.
At The Park
A witness July 5 told police that Aceves was among three males approached by the 47-year-old victim just after 10 p.m. at Mathew Campfield Park on the city’s north side as a crowd had gathered to watch fireworks, the arrest affidavit states.
The witness told police that she knew Aceves had shot the victim using a small handgun that resembled a “Hellcat” model 9 mm. The witness told police the victim was upset about the group’s indiscriminate use of fireworks.
A video provided to police July 5 showed juvenile males standing apart from others at the park’s basketball court when the victim approached. He grabbed one of trio and put him up against a fence as a male in a black hooded Nike sweatshirt, blue jeans and black shoes attempted to shove him, the affidavit states.
Later, the same person in the Nike hooded sweatshirt with face unrecognizable could be seen holding a “small handgun in his right hand and fire a single shot into (the victim). Several people began yelling before everyone ran in various directions,” the affidavit states.
When officers arrived at the scene, the victim’s wife was applying direct pressure to the gunshot wound and officers and later EMS personnel started applying first aid, the affidavit states.
He Says No, Witness Says Yes
On July 5, police conducted a search of Aceves’ home and questioned him.
Aceves told police that he had left with friend prior to the shooting and had been wearing a white Nike brand hoodie with a small stain on the front pocket. He said they went to Wendy’s and stayed the night with a female friend until he was taken home that morning.
A confidential witness interviewed by police Sept. 6 identified Aceves as the person in the black hoodie and as the driver of a group of males who went to the Mathew Campfield Park the night of July 4.
A video by another confidential witness of the shooting provided to police Sept. 11 clearly showed Aceves’ face as he’s holding a black handgun in his right hand with the barrel pointed first at the victim’s head and then at his back.
As the victime was in a pushing match with one of the group, unaware that Aceves was behind him with a gun, the affidavit states that the video shows Aceves firing “a single shot, striking (the victim) in the back.”
“Aceves quickly turns toward the camera and begins to run toward the south entrance of the basketball courts,” the affidavit states. “Aceves’ face is captured by the camera. … The video captures Aceves attempting to place the black handgun in the front waistband of his jeans.”
On Sept. 17, a Casper police detective interviewed the shooting victim who told the detective the bullet had entered his lower back through the upper part of his pelvis, shattered the upper section of his right hip and came to a stop inside his abdomen. Surgery was required to repair the damage.
A 9 mm bullet was recovered from his body, the affidavit states.
The aggravated assault and battery charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of not more than $10,000 or both.
Bond was set at $100,000 cash or surety. Aceves remains in the Natrona County jail.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
