CASPER - A 19-year-old Casper man entered a plea deal Tuesday for the Feb. 12 shooting death of a 16-year-old boy as they played video games, smoked marijuana and messed around with handguns.
Luka Rasmussen stood beside his attorney Marty Scott before Natrona County District Court Judge Kerri Johnson and pleaded guilty to the single involuntary manslaughter charge he faced. The charge stemmed from the shooting death of Riley Sears in a home on the 4000 Block of East 8th Street in Casper.
Under terms of the plea deal with Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen, Scott told the judge that his client’s guilty plea would be in exchange for a maximum 16-year sentence on the charge which carries the potential of 20 years in prison.
Prior to his plea, Johnson asked Rasmussen if he understood the terms of the agreement that would involve the 16-year-sentence cap.
“You and your counsel are able to ask for less,” the judge said. “Do you join in this agreement?”
“Yes, your honor,” Rasmussen said.
After Rasmussen pleaded guilty, Johnson asked him to tell her what happened. His comments were too soft to be heard in the gallery and sometimes by the judge.
“You fired the gun, and it hit Mr. Sears and resulted in his death?” Johnson asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Rasmussen said.
Itzen interjected that Rasmussen was using controlled substances at the time of the shooting.
Controlled Substances
Johnson asked Rasmussen if he was using controlled substances at the time his weapon went off, and he agreed.
“Do you agree this is reckless?” she asked.
“Yes, your honor, Rasmussen said.
After his plea, Scott asked the judge to consider reducing his client’s bond from $500,000 cash or surety to $100,000 cash or surety.
Itzen argued that bond was appropriate where it was when considering the charge against Rasmussen. The judge agreed.
Prior to the hearing, Rasmussen could be seen passing a letter to Scott. Scott told him to save it for his sentencing hearing.
Court records and Rasmussen’s Casper Circuit Court preliminary hearing outlined the events that led to the charge against Rasmussen.
Casper Police Detective Leonard Jacobs testified at the preliminary hearing that police responded to the house on East 8th Street around 9 p.m. on Feb. 12 for a report of a “traumatic injury.”
Single Bullet
They found the body of Riley Sears lying on his side in a second-floor bedroom with a single gunshot wound “just off his right eyebrow.” The bullet had gone through his head, a gaming chair, curtain and glass door, Jacobs testified.
Testimony showed Rasmussen has been picked up from work by a 17-year-old male who lived at the Eighth Street address, and they later picked up Sears. Rasmussen was taken to his residence to pick up his handgun, a .40-caliber Glock.
The police affidavit in the case states that they returned to the Eighth Street home and played a video game and Rasmussen admitted to taking three hits from a marijuana vape pen allegedly brought by the victim, Sears.
The 17-year-old who lived at the home told police that prior to the incident, Rasmussen had pointed his pistol at Sears and that “while the firearm is pointed at Sears, the firearm goes off.”
Rasmussen told police that he was going to take a photo of his pistol and got distracted and when he went “to sit down, the firearm goes off,” Jacobs testified.
During the preliminary hearing, Itzen introduced two photos taken from the cell phone of the 17-year-old that showed Rasmussen pointing a Glock handgun with a green laser at the 17-year-old on Feb. 10, two days before the fatal shooting of Sears.
Another photo from Jan. 23 showed Rasmussen pointing the weapon at the same teen as he stood over him.
The shooting investigation found that all the teens possessed handguns. Police recovered a “single firearm” adjacent to Sears with the magazine ejected and the chamber empty, Jacobs testified. They found the .40-caliber Glock in the backyard belonging to Rasmussen between a shed and the fence with the magazine ejected and the chamber empty, he said.
Additionally, Jacobs testified that police found a third firearm in a grate inside a grill. He said the gun was associated with the 17-year-old who lived at the Eighth Street home.
Jacobs testified that the police found evidence that marijuana or THC was being used in the bedroom, through a vape pipe as well as other marijuana paraphernalia.
The judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation in the case that she will consider prior to Rasmussen’s sentencing.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
