CASPER — A 21-year-old Cheyenne man accused of shooting a 16-year-old boy after they repeatedly played a game in which they’d point loaded handguns at each other pleaded not guilty Tuesday.
Sebastian Belden appeared at his arraignment in an orange jail jumpsuit and shackles with court-appointed attorney Dylan Rosalez before Natrona County District Court Judge Kerri Johnson.
She read him the two charges of aggravated assault and battery he faces and explained the potential 10-year sentence that came with each charge.
Belden told the judge he understood the charges, then told the judge, “Not guilty, your honor."
The teen shot that day, May 11, sat in the courtroom with family members directly behind the prosecutor’s table.
Rosalez then asked the judge to consider reducing Belden’s $50,000 cash or surety bond “to the lowest the court sees fit.”
He said Belden had a residence prior to his arrest and had no significant criminal record.
Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Patrick LeBrun argued the bond had been set appropriately.
He said the circumstances of the case involve a 21-year-old who was a member of the Wyoming National Guard “playing this game” with a 16-year-old pointing guns at one another.
“Several times during the day he is pointing his gun as a joke,” LeBrun said. “In the evening, he shoots him in the head.”
‘Fluke’
LeBrun said Belden had moved to Cheyenne after the shooting and before his arrest.
He also noted that the defendant bought the handgun for the 16-year-old against the “will” of the teen’s guardians.
Belden’s actions represented a danger to the community, LeBrun said, and the judge agreed.
“I will continue the bond,” she said.
Court records show charges against Belden stem from the Mother’s Day evening gunplay at his former address in the 100 block of South Washington in Casper.
Initially Belden told a Natrona County Sheriff’s Office investigator that the shooting was a “one-in-a-million-fluke kind of thing because the safety on my gun was on.”
“I didn’t even know I had a live round in the chamber,” Belden told the investigator.
Witnesses, including Belden’s fiancée, told police both Belden and the teen had weapons on the afternoon of May 11, and that Belden frequently took his Taurus G3 9 mm from his waistband and pointed it at the teen’s head.
“During most of those incidents, (his fiancée) told Belden to put the firearm away,” the affidavit states.
Shot In The Head
Belden eventually confessed in a May 21 follow-up interview with authorities that he pulled the weapon from his waistband, pointed it at the teen, manipulated the safety lever to “make sure nothing bad happened.”
He agreed with an investigator that the only way it could have gone off was that “his finger was on the trigger,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also states the teen was found with a gunshot wound to the left side of his forehead above the left eye and an exit wound on the left side of his head above and behind his left ear.
The teen was treated at Banner Wyoming Medical Center and then flown to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver.
Deputies found a loaded SCCY handgun on the ground within reach of the victim with a live round in the chamber and a baseball-style hat near the teen that had a bullet hole through it.
During interviews with Belden’s fiancée and forensic interviews with 12-year-old and 14-year-old minor girls who had witnessed the shooting, investigators were told that Belden asked them to lie to law enforcement and tell them he tripped over something, and that is what caused his weapon to go off.
No Animosity
All three of the females told investigators that there was no animosity between the pair, and Belden’s fiancée told deputies that he had bought the SCCY handgun for the 16-year-old.
Investigators found the purchase forms for both of the weapons on March 28, 2025, and April 16, 2025.
The affidavit states that a video at the store where the SCCY handgun was bought showed Belden’s fiancée and the teen were with him.
Belden also wrote an apology letter to the teen’s family and a representative of his delivered the letter to the Casper Police Department asking it to be given to the teen’s family.
The letter was given to the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office, the affidavit states.
“The note expressed regret and remorse on behalf of Belden for hurting (the teen),” the affidavit states. “The note also indicated that the shooting was a ‘terrible accident’ and asked for the (teen’s) family’s forgiveness.”
Johnson said the case would be put on the court’s schedule for trial.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
