A Casper Police investigation into a shooting involving 30-40 rounds of ammunition being shot in downtown Casper remains open as one of the teens was arraigned in Natrona County District Court on Thursday.
A second teen is scheduled for arraignment Friday.
Tanas Laquane Welch, 16, stood beside defense attorney Ryan Semerad as Judge Catherine Wilking went through the seven felonies.
They are five counts of aggravated assault and battery, one count of possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent, and one count of property destruction and defacement of property worth more than $1,000.
Welch told the judge he understood the charges and potential penalties.
She asked him how he would plead to them all.
“Not guilty,” Welch said. He also told the judge beforehand that he has completed the 10th grade.
Semerad then told the judge he is looking into filing a motion to send the case to juvenile court. He also is investigating whether the aggravated assault charges are the most appropriate for his client’s alleged actions in the early morning hours of July 15.
He said that Welch’s preliminary hearing in Casper Circuit Court had been waived.
Semerad asked the judge to consider reducing the $100,000 cash or surety bond, and noted he only has a prior minor in possession of tobacco charge and driving violation.
“He is an honor roll student, he is young,” he said. “No one was injured.”
Semerad said his client “may have used a firearm” after being threatened with a knife or another gun. There were “no indications of premeditation,” he said.
If released on bond, the youth could go back to school and would stay with his mother, Semerad said. He asked the court to consider reducing the bond to $50,000 cash or surety.
Letter From Mother
A letter in the court record from the teen’s mother also asked for the judge to consider reducing the bond. She told the court Welch had been working two jobs seven days a week and maintained a 4.2 grade-point average in high school.
Natrona County Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson argued the bond was appropriate and said the state “did not disagree” that Welch basically has no criminal history.
He urged the judge to consider the “nature of the conduct that is alleged here.” The 30-40 rounds were fired in downtown Casper around the Jeffree Star store and David Street Station area.
“This is a crowded area,” he said. “There were persons who felt bullets downrange and they had to duck.”
Nelson also questioned Welch’s ability to live with his mother, noting that he was out at midnight while 16 and in possession of a firearm.
Wilking ruled the bond is appropriate.
Casper Police Department spokesperson Rebekah Ladd said Thursday the investigation continues.
“The case itself is extremely complex with many involved persons,” she said. “Additional charges and persons of interest have not been ruled out.”
Another shooter identified and arrested by police will be arraigned in district court Friday. Quincy Johnathan Eureste, 18, faces identical charges to Welch’s.
The Background
Affidavits in both cases show Casper Police responded to David Street Station just after midnight July 15 after a number of callers reported gunshots and a man falling.
Neither affidavit explicitly identifies Welch or Eureste as shooters.
An officer responding to the scene found “numerous bullet casings” in the parking lot of the Star store in the 300 block of South Ash Street. Bullet holes were also found in beams at David Street Station.
A review of store security footage showed four vehicles pulled into the parking lot, included white BMW 530i, red Buick, red hatchback and black Audi SUV that contained a group of eight young men, the affidavit states.
A dark colored Chrysler 300 could be seen pulling up and parking close to David Street Station. The group walked over and spoke with someone inside the car and then returned to the Star parking lot.
A short time later a white Chevrolet pickup with an extended cab pulled into the same location where the Chrysler had been. The group from the parking lot confronted those in the truck.
The affidavit states a “heavy-set male” wearing black clothing and white shoes who was part of the eight-member group then fired several rounds from a weapon into the air.
The group from the parking lot ran back to their vehicles.
“Another male wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans retreats behind the red hatchback, draws a pistol, walks toward the front end of the red hatchback and begins firing toward the white truck,” the affidavit states. The heavy-set male takes cover on the passenger side of the black Audi and also fires.
Police later identified Welch as the one in the red T-shirt and jeans who fired.
The affidavit states the heavy-set male, another male in a white T-shirt and jeans, and the male in the red T-shirt leave in the black Audi. The Buick stayed on the scene and a 16-year-old male walked down South Ash Street, was seen by a bar employee, reported to police and picked up.
The investigation showed three girls were walking in the area of the downtown station and told the occupants of the white pickup they had been followed by a group of males and “harassed.”
'Something Bad'
A person identified in the affidavit as “Source 4” told police he and a friend were in the white truck and drove around the block to locate the group of young men. When they saw the girls attempting to walk through David Street Station they felt “something bad was about to go down,” the affidavit states.
The affidavit said “Source 4” walked toward the girls and was confronted by the young men. When the group started to walk away from him, he heard gunshots and then “bullets started to fly past.”
“Source 4” told police the group of males were Hispanic and were wearing red, except one wore a white T-shirt. He said the male in the white T-shirt lifted up his shirt to reveal a gun tattoo in his chest area and the male said “remember this tattoo.”
A “Source 6” told police he saw the girls and “K-Round and Quincy” showed up and started to “press” the individuals in the truck. “Source 6” said “K-Round” became angry and then he heard a weapon being cocked and the shooting began.
“Quincy” refers to Eureste.
“Source 6 ducked down and saw a gun on the ground,” the affidavit states. “Source 6 picked up the gun and started to shoot. Source 6 believed he was being shot at.”
The affidavit also states a female who was part of the group of three pulled out a knife and was challenged by one of the group of eight to “do something.” A source told police he then heard someone rack the slide of a gun.
Each aggravated assault and battery count as well as the property destruction and defacement more than $1,000 charge carry potential penalties of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine or both. The possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
