CASPER — An 18-year-old investigated in connection with the July shootout that sent dozens of bullets flying around downtown Casper has been arrested on a federal gun charge after authorities say they found a stolen AR-style rifle locked in his bedroom safe.
Kenneth Kalev Trillo faces one count of possessing a stolen firearm in U.S. District Court. He was arrested Thursday, nearly three weeks after federal agents searched his Casper residence and filed the charge against him.
The federal case grew out of the investigation into the July 15 gunfight near David Street Station, a sprawling case that has already resulted in seven felony charges each against two other young men.
Five days after that shooting, Casper police obtained a warrant to search Trillo's cellphone because he was “involved in a shooting in Casper on July 15,” says an affidavit filed by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Krystal Stevenson.
What investigators say they found on that phone opened another avenue of the investigation.
There were photographs of Trillo holding firearms with silencers and suspected machine-gun conversion devices. There were also videos, including one where Trillo appears to pull the trigger of a pistol once and dump an entire high-capacity drum magazine.
Two months later, an informant told police Trillo had multiple guns inside his residence. When federal agents searched Sept. 25, they say they found a stolen Black Rain Ordnance rifle in a safe in his bedroom.
Dozens Of Shots Downtown
The July 15 gunfight erupted around midnight near the Jeffery Star store in downtown Casper.
Police were dispatched after numerous 911 callers reported hearing gunfire, with some estimating 30 to 40 shots, court records show.
When officers arrived, they didn't find anyone with a gunshot wound despite shell casings scattered throughout the Jeffery Star parking lot. Officers documented casings in multiple calibers, including 10mm and 9mm, along with one .22 LR casing.
They also photographed three projectile strikes in the pavement.
Surveillance video from the store showed several vehicles arriving in the area before a group of men gathered in the parking lot.
Police described about eight males who had been hanging around downtown. Witnesses said the group followed several people who were trying to take pictures near David Street Station before eventually confronting people around a white pickup.
Court documents allege the encounter quickly escalated.
One witness said the group approached people around the pickup and tried to fight. Another described a man threatening to pull a gun.
Surveillance video showed a heavy-set man dressed in black firing several rounds from a pistol into the air. People began scrambling toward their vehicles.
Another man retreated behind a red hatchback, drew a pistol and walked toward the front of the car while firing toward the white pickup. Police said four rounds could be seen striking the asphalt several feet in front of him.
The heavy-set man who earlier fired into the air then allegedly began shooting toward the truck as well.
One witness told investigators she could hear the “wizz” of bullets passing near her head, shoulder and arm.
There was a brief pause in the gunfire, then another burst erupted.
Two Charged, Others Investigated
Two young men have since been charged in the downtown gunfight.
Quincy Johnathan Eureste and Tanas Laquane Welch each face seven felony charges: Five counts of aggravated assault and battery, one count of possessing a deadly weapon with unlawful intent and one count of felony property destruction.
The assault charges accuse both of shooting at the same five people.
Each aggravated assault count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent carries up to five years, while felony property destruction carries up to 10.
Both cases remain pending. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Eureste is on the Nov. 11 trial stack, according to Natrona County court records reviewed Monday. His bond was set at $100,000 cash or surety.
Welch remains on a $100,000 cash bond, which a judge kept in place at his arraignment. His case is on the Nov. 23 trial stack.
Trillo was not charged alongside them in the downtown shooting case, but the federal records now show that investigators were also looking at him as they worked the July 15 shooting.
What's On The Phone
Five days after the shootout, Casper police detectives obtained the state warrant for Trillo's phone.
Investigators say they found multiple photographs showing Trillo holding firearms with what appeared to be silencers, along with guns equipped with machine-gun conversion devices.
They identified Trillo as the person in the photographs in part through his tattoos, Stevenson wrote.
The phone allegedly contained videos as well. Several showed Trillo firing a gun that appeared to have a machine-gun conversion device.
One was dated June 20, several weeks before the downtown shooting.
In that video, Trillo held a pistol equipped with a high-capacity drum magazine.
Stevenson wrote that Trillo appeared to depress the trigger once and fire all of the ammunition from the magazine.
Despite what investigators say they saw on the phone, Trillo isn't currently charged federally with possessing a machine gun, machine-gun conversion device or illegal silencer.
The only charge against him is for a gun investigators wouldn't find until more than two months later.
Tip About Guns
On Sept. 18, an informant met with Casper police and told an officer Trillo had multiple firearms in his residence, according to the federal affidavit.
Some allegedly had what the informant called “suppressors,” while others had short barrels.
The person also described a Glock with a distinctive red Playboy Bunny symbol.
Based on the description, Stevenson believed the informant was actually describing a machine-gun conversion device attached to the handgun.
The person also said firearm boxes had been moved from a Chrysler 200 into Trillo's residence.
On Sept. 24, Stevenson checked the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record database and found no firearms registered to Trillo there, she wrote.
The next day, federal agents arrived at Trillo's Casper residence with a search warrant.
Stolen Rifle
During the search, investigators found a Black Rain Ordnance Fallout15 rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO, says the federal affidavit.
They ran its serial number through local dispatch.
The rifle had been reported stolen.
The federal affidavit doesn't identify the rifle's owner, say where it was stolen or explain who allegedly stole it. Nor does it explain exactly how it wound up in Trillo's residence.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Trillo allegedly told investigators he knew the rifle was inside a safe.
The safe was his, he said, and it was in his bedroom.
Trillo also acknowledged having the keys to the safe and being able to get inside it.
Then investigators asked whether the rifle was stolen.
Trillo allegedly said he thought it was, based on how the gun had been obtained.
Prosecutors aren't merely alleging Trillo happened to possess a firearm that turned out to be stolen. The federal charge alleges he possessed it knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it was stolen.
State Charges Dismissed
The September investigation resulted in state charges against Trillo for marijuana possession and grand theft, according to Natrona County court records.
Those charges have since been dismissed.
Trillo's federal case, meanwhile, is just getting underway.
Federal prosecutors filed the criminal complaint Sept. 25 and obtained a warrant for his arrest.
That warrant wasn't executed until Friday.
The government has since filed a motion seeking Trillo's detention.
He is scheduled to make his first federal court appearance at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday by video before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott P. Klosterman.
If convicted of possessing a stolen firearm, Trillo faces up to 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
For now, that's the only federal charge he faces.
The suspected silencers, short-barreled guns, machine-gun conversion devices and automatic-fire video described in the affidavit haven't resulted in additional federal charges.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
