Three Cheyenne teens face charges in Cheyenne Circuit Court related to the botched robbery of a firearm that resulted in the shooting death of an 18-year-old.
Jraheem Turner, 17, is charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly shooting Vincent Gardea as Gardea was “pistol whipping” him, according to court records available Tuesday.
Gardea’s alleged co-conspirators, Jonaven Bolton, 16, and Sauliman White-Hayes, 16, both face charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and accessory, aid and abet aggravated robbery.
Court records show that Cheyenne Police were called to the intersection of Ridgeland Street and Evers Boulevard on Nov. 12 for a shooting and vehicle accident.
When officers arrived, they found a white 1998 Dodge Ram pickup that had crashed through a fence into the backyard of a home in the 700 block of Ridgeland Road.
Responding officers found Gardea slumped over the steering wheel of the truck with a gunshot wound to his right bicep and left side of his chest, a police affidavit states. Gardea was unresponsive and EMS responders pronounced him dead on the scene.
The affidavit states that Bolton and White-Hayes had been in the truck with Vincent.
The investigation showed that the shooting occurred at a home in the 600 block of Ridgeland Road and officers cleared the house and secured it for detectives.
Investigators learned that Vincent, Bolton and White-Hayes had driven to the residence to allegedly purchase a weapon from Turner.
Seeking ‘MP5’
Bolton told police that they were arranging to buy an “MP5” which is a German-made submachine gun for $700. White-Hayes in his interview was not specific on the intended weapon they were seeking, the affidavit states.
White-Hayes told officers that Gardea picked him up about 6 p.m. and then they went to pick up Bolton. Bolton was on the phone with Turner when they picked him up and urged the two to go get the gun.
“Sauliman confirmed no one in the truck had $700 and they intended to ‘jump’ Jraheem for the firearm,” the affidavit states.
Once at Turner’s house, Gardea got out of the truck and started “pistol whipping” Turner with a Smith and Wesson 9 mm handgun in order to rob him, the affidavit states. Bolton told police he got out of the truck because he thought they were going into the garage.
At the scene, officers observed fresh scratches and cuts on the left side of Turner’s face consistent with being pistol whipped.
Turner told police that he had arranged to sell a pistol and when he approached the driver’s side door of the truck the driver got out, grabbed his sweatshirt and started hitting him in the face. He said he saw someone come around the passenger side of the car with a pistol in his hands.
Turner told police he pulled his Glock 30 chambered in .45 caliber and there was a 15-round magazine in the handgun.
“Jraheem said after he shot the driver, Vincent, that Vincent stopped hitting him, got in the truck and sped down the street,” the affidavit states.
Turner told police that the Glock had a binary trigger on it and would allow the weapon to fire when the trigger is pulled and when it is released. However, an inspection of the weapon by a Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms expert found the weapon had been illegally modified to fire fully automatic.
Bought Weapon ‘Off Streets’
Turner told police he had purchased the weapon for $500 “off the streets” about two months earlier. He said he only knew the person he was selling the weapon to as “Jstar” and they had exchanged Snapchat information at a McDonald’s.
Bolton confirmed to police that his username as “Jstar.” A forensic examination of Gardea’s phone found at the scene showed that he had been communicating with “Jstar” and sent a screenshot of Turner’s face to Vincent on Nov. 12. Police found text messages between Gardea and White-Hayes that revealed they were trying to trade a “smithy and .38” for a “chop.”
The affidavit states the “chop” term is slang for a gun, usually an AK-47 or assault rifle.
During a search of the residence where Turner lived, officers found a Glock 30 handgun on a dining room table with the slide locked back and no magazine. The found a .45 caliber round on steps going to a basement and shell casings of fired .45-caliber rounds in the driveway.
The affidavit states that police found a black Glock case with an empty .45-caliber 13-round magazine in a bathroom as well as an empty 9mm Glock magazine inside the case. In an office in the home was a Mini Draco AK-47-style pistol that was collected as evidence.
The investigation of the neighborhood on Nov. 13 also found four bullet strikes on the front of a home in the 600 block of Ridgeland Street and another home on the same block had a bullet strike near the roof peak.
The manslaughter charge against Turner carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The conspiracy to commit aggravated armed robbery and accessory, aid and abet — armed robbery charges against Bolton and White-Hayes carry potential penalties of a minimum of five years to 25 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
An obituary at Cheyenne’s Wiederspahn-Radomsky Chapel of the Chimes website states that Gardea had recently graduated from Poder Academy and was proud of being able to purchase his truck.
“Vincent had a wonderful smile and a contagious laugh, the kind that could fill a room and lift others instantly,” the obituary states. “As a loving and protective big brother, he adored his siblings and always looked out for them. His playful nature, big heart, and ability to make everyone around him laugh will remain among the most treasured memories of those who knew him best."
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
