KADEN HARPER - 9 yo -(2010) Salina KS

The attorney representing a 14-year-old boy charged with first-degree
murder told a judge Friday that keeping the boy in the Saline County
Juvenile Detention Center appears to be the only reasonable option at
present because of the nature of the charges he faces.
However, Ryan Velez's attorney, Mitch Christians, said he wants to
ensure that the case keeps moving forward since the boy is in custody.
Christians requested that a timetable for court action be established
so that the case "doesn't fall into a black hole."
Velez is accused of shooting to death his 9-year-old stepbrother,
Kaden Harper, while the two boys were home alone Tuesday.
Judge Patrick Thompson on Friday found that placement in juvenile
detention is in Velez's best interest, at present. He set another
hearing for review of the case at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Charges against Velez were initially filed in juvenile court. Saline
County Attorney Ellen Mitchell said she will review reports and evidence
and meet with the victim's family before deciding whether to file a
motion to prosecute Velez as an adult.
She said in an e-mail to the Journal on Friday that it could be a
month before she decides whether to seek adult prosecution of Velez. If
she does, a hearing would be held and Thompson would decide whether
Velez should be tried as an adult.

Judging the case

At the hearing Wednesday, Thompson said that he would like the state
to submit for his review whatever evidence against Velez has been
gathered. The judge said he will look at the evidence in determining
whether there is probable cause to submit the case to a jury.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in March that the state's juvenile
code does not guarantee juvenile defendants the right to a preliminary
hearing. Mitchell said Friday it had been the practice in Saline County
before that ruling to conduct preliminary hearings for juveniles facing felony charges.
At a preliminary hearing, evidence is presented and witnesses are
cross-examined before a judge rules on whether there is probable cause
to submit the case to a jury. Adults facing felony charges can choose to
have the preliminary hearing or waive their right to such a hearing.
While the recent ruling concluded that juveniles are not entitled to a
preliminary hearing, it did indicate juveniles are constitutionally
entitled to a judicial determination of probable cause before they can
be kept in custody for an extended period.

An Ellsworth case

The ruling, which resulted from an Ellsworth County case in which the
defendant was not being held in custody, does not specify necessary
steps for a probable cause determination short of a preliminary hearing.
District Magistrate Judge Mary Thrower, who typically handles
juvenile adjudications, said that until about two years ago, juvenile
offenders facing serious charges could request a jury trial, and those
requests were granted at the judge's discretion.
She said the requests were rare. She remembers being asked for a jury
trial twice in the 4 1/2 years she has served as a judge, and both of
those cases were ultimately settled out of court.
About two years ago, she said, the Kansas Supreme Court decided
juvenile offenders were entitled to a jury trial, whether or not a judge
granted the request. The March ruling begins to clarify a juvenile
offender's rights beyond the right to trial, she said.

The prosecution against a 14-year old Salina
boy charged with murder will continue. That's what a judge decided
Wednesday in court.
The teen is accused of shooting Kaden Harper, his 9-year old step-brother.
As of now, the teen is being tried as a juvenile.
Besides deciding there is reason to continue
with murder charges, the judge also says the 14-year old has to remain
in juvenile detention. Because it is still a juvenile case, no cameras
were allowed in the courtroom.
The 14-year old is accused of murdering his
stepbrother, 9-year old Kaden Harper June 2nd. The two boys were alone
at their rural Assaria house. It was the 14-year old who called 911.
First responders found Harper on the front
porch but officials say he was shot in the house. Harper died on scene.
Wednesday in court, the judge reviewed all
the evidence to see if there was reason to continue with murder charges.
According to court documents that list of
evidence includes a Western Marshall magnum single action revolver, a
box of ammunition, samples of blood stains found around the house and
even the clothes the 14-year old was wearing, including socks, shoes and shorts.
Both attorneys in this case have decided not
to release any information publicly at this point. The 14-year olds
pre-trial is set for the last week in June, his trial is set for September.

Boy describes killing brother



5/25/2011
He initially told Saline County sheriff's deputies that he was firing at a snake that had slithered into his family's rural Assaria home when his 9-year-old stepbrother, Kaden Harper, jumped in front of him as the gun fired.
But during a series of interviews with deputy Linda Martinez that occurred over a period of more than three hours, Ryan Velez's account of the events of June 1, 2010 -- the day Kaden was fatally shot -- changed several times.
During those interviews on the day of the shooting, which were videotaped and played Tuesday in Saline County District Court, Martinez told Velez, 15, numerous times that she thought he was lying, and she told him she thought the shooting wasn't accidental, as Velez had insisted.
And in the end, Velez said in the videotaped interview and in a written statement that he'd shot his stepbrother not accidentally, but because he was angry at what Kaden had said to him during an argument the boys had over chores.
"I was so angry that I let it take over where that I shot him ... because I hated what he said," Velez wrote, in a statement that was read Tuesday in court.
Velez is charged in juvenile court with first-degree murder. Tuesday's hearing was a combined preliminary hearing and a hearing on a motion to have him certified to face trial as an adult. The hearing will continue at 10 a.m. today.
Velez was in court Tuesday, but did not testify. In the videotaped interview it didn't take long for Velez to admit that there really was no snake.
Confirming what deputies had been told by a neighbor, Katherine Gregory, Velez told Martinez that he and Kaden had argued earlier that day over chores the two were supposed to complete.
Kaden had gone to the nearby Gregory home briefly after the boys had argued in the morning, Gregory testified. Gregory, an art teacher at Southeast of Saline School, said she knew both boys from school. She testified that Kaden often went to her home to talk, and that Ryan had been there at least once.
Boys continue to argue
After lunch, Kaden and Velez played a game, Velez told Martinez in the videotaped interview, but then things became tense again.
"He started saying stuff that made me angry," Velez said.
He said Kaden said his ideas were stupid, and called him names.
"That's when I grabbed the gun from the kitchen," Velez said.
The gun was a revolver. Velez said he was just trying to scare Kaden when he pointed it toward him.
"Kaden said, 'You don't scare me anymore,' " Velez said, on the tape. "He wasn't scared. If I don't scare him, he doesn't listen."
Velez said he aimed the gun slightly away from Kaden and put his finger on the trigger. He he wasn't trying to shoot his stepbrother -- he actually was trying to decock the hammer on the revolver. He explained that to decock the revolver, he puts his finger on the trigger and his thumb on the hammer and pulls the trigger slowly -- a procedure he'd done before. Only this time, his thumb slipped off the hammer, and the gun fired.
He said he was aiming slightly away from Kaden, but the bullet hit Kaden in the face, below the eye.
After Velez gave that account, Martinez continued to question him, saying she thought he was lying.
"A big part of me tells me that you lost control, and that you shot your brother," Martinez said.
"I was trying to decock the pistol," Velez said, on the videotape.
He makes me angry
Martinez asked Velez to go through the scenario one more time, giving details about what happened, and he did.
"When he makes me angry, I tend to act and not think, and that's what I did," Velez said.
Martinez left the room for several minutes and asked Velez to write out his account.
When she returned, she told Velez she thought he had shot Kaden because he was angry.
"You need to tell the truth," she said.
"I am telling you the truth," Velez said. "I would never shoot anyone. Yes, I lost control. ... I didn't mean to. I was trying to decock it."
"If you're not telling the truth, it's going to be a lot worse," Martinez said. "You told me you have trouble with losing control. No one will believe you were trying to decock it. The judge will see right through that. You need to be honest."
The two went back and forth for several minutes.
"Lying to me is not going to help you," Martinez said. "You lied to me before several times, and I think you're lying to me now."
Picked on at school
Martinez talked to Velez about how people at school made fun of him, and how Kaden's mocking might have made him think about those people. She suggested that Velez was angry not just at Kaden, but at others who had teased him, and about things others had said about him.
"You weren't decocking, were you?" she asked. "It (your thumb) didn't slip, did it?"
Velez shrugged his shoulders.
"I started letting it go, but I didn't let go of it," he said. "I wasn't paying attention. I was fed up with it."
She then left him to write his statement.
Velez said that after firing the gun, he took it back to the kitchen and put it on the refrigerator. Deputies found it there later, loaded with .38-caliber hollow point bullets and with a shell casing still in one of the chambers. A box of ammunition also was on the refrigerator.
Dragged onto the porch
He then returned to the living room, dragged Kaden onto the front porch and called his mother using a cordless telephone. He said he tried several times before reaching his mother.
"I was just screaming into the phone, and she asked me what was wrong," Velez said. "I told her Kaden was dead."
He said his mother told him to hang up and call 911, so he did.
Velez was on the phone with an emergency dispatcher until a sheriff's deputy arrived -- about 14 minutes. During that time, the dispatcher was giving Velez instructions in administering CPR.
During the videotaped interview, Velez told Martinez that he administered CPR to his stepbrother -- that he breathed into his mouth and administered chest compressions -- but that Kaden didn't respond.
No blood on his face
But Martinez questioned whether Velez was being truthful. She said that Kaden's face was caked in blood, but witnesses noted that when they arrived at the house, they saw no blood on Velez's face, and he had no blood on the front of his shirt.
Velez told Martinez, in the videotape, that he washed his face in the bathroom after Gregory, his neighbor, arrived at the house, before the first deputy arrived.
Gregory testified that she couldn't recall seeing blood on Ryan.

http://www.salina.com/news/story/Velez-prelim-5-24-11

Hearing postponed for murder suspect




5/26/2011

The conclusion of a preliminary hearing for Ryan Velez, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 9-year-old stepbrother, has been postponed until 1:30 p.m. June 30 to give his attorney time to locate witnesses who can describe Juvenile Justice Authority programs available to juveniles convicted of murder.
The hearing, which also is a hearing on a motion to certify Velez to face trial as an adult, began Tuesday in Saline County District Court.
Velez is accused of fatally shooting his stepbrother, Kaden Harper, in the face with a handgun while the two were home alone at their rural Assaria home at 11382 S. Simpson on June 1, 2010.
Mitch Christians, defense attorney for Velez, 15, told Saline County District Court Judge Patrick Thompson on Wednesday that weeks ago he had subpoenaed Dr. Jennifer Pealer of the Juvenile Justice Authority, but hadn't had a chance to talk to her until Wednesday morning. She told him by phone from Topeka just before the hearing was to resume that she wouldn't be the best person to testify.
Christians said he had decided to contact Pealer after talking to an attorney who had defended a juvenile charged with murder in Finney County. But he told Thompson that Pealer told him that she is the general coordinator of the juvenile programs and couldn't talk specifically about the programs.
Christians said Pealer gave him the names of two other people who should be better able to describe the programs. Christians left phone messages for those people, but wasn't able to reach them before court was to resume Wednesday.
Vital information
Christians told Thompson that he (Christians) had to prove to the judge that the juvenile system would be able to handle Velez if he is found guilty of murder in juvenile court. Without the testimony of one of those witnesses, he said, he wouldn't be able to satisfy that burden.
County Attorney Ellen Mitchell agreed that the information was important to have.
She said she also preferred to present the rest of her witnesses at that time.
Thompson agreed to postpone the conclusion of the hearing, saying the information to be provided by witnesses from the Juvenile Justice Authority would be vital for him to have in order to make a decision.
He said a "crucial factor" for him to consider as he decides whether justice will be best served if Velez is tried as a juvenile or as an adult will be whether there are facilities and programs available for treatment and possible rehabilitation under the juvenile code.
Also Wednesday, Thompson set Aug. 30 as the tentative date for the start of a trial -- whether Velez is tried in juvenile or adult court.

http://www.salina.com/news/story/Prelim-continued

Teen pleads not guilty to stepbrother's murder

7/13/2011
SALINE COUNTY, Kansas – A Saline County teenager pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the murder of his nine-year-old stepbrother.

Ryan Velez, 15, who is being tried as an adult, is charged with first-degree murder.

Velez was 14 at the time of the shooting in Assaria last summer. He is being held at the Saline County jail on $250,000 bond.

A jury trial is set to begin at the end of August.
http://www.ksn.com/content/news/bureaus/story/Teen-pleads-not-guilty-to-stepbrothers-murder/HL-Q3ZTADkOCa2klQyn8jg.cspx

Murder trail for Velez postponed

8/31/2011



Murder trail for Velez postponed

A jury trial that had been set to start Tuesday for a 15-year-old rural Assaria boy accused of murdering his 9-year-old stepbrother has been postponed until late next month.

Ryan T. Velez, who is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the June 1, 2010, fatal shooting of Kaden R. Harper, is now scheduled for trial at 9 a.m. Sept. 27 in Saline County District Court.

http://www.salina.com/news/story/velez-8-30-11

Assaria boy pleads guilty to murder

9/29/2011
By ERIN MATHEWS Salina Journal



A 15-year-old rural Assaria boy pleaded guilty Wednesday to unintentional but reckless second-degree murder for the shooting death of his 9-year-old stepbrother.

A jury trial for Ryan T. Velez had been scheduled to begin Wednesday in Saline County District Court.

"Mr. Velez, are you pleading guilty to this charge because you are guilty?" Judge Patrick Thompson asked the boy, who stood with his attorney, Mitch Christians.

"Yes, sir," Velez answered.

Thompson scheduled sentencing for Velez at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 2.

According to state guidelines, the sentencing range for the crime Velez pleaded guilty to is nine years and one month to 41 years and one month in prison, depending on a person's criminal history.

Velez originally had been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the June 1, 2010, fatal shooting of Kaden R. Harper while the two boys were home alone. Harper had just completed third grade and Velez had completed eighth grade at Southeast of Saline School.

Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell amended the charge to second-degree murder after the plea agreement was reached Tuesday. Velez and his mother, Angela Harper, signed the documents submitting his guilty plea to the court Wednesday morning.

Because of the severity of the charge against him, Velez had been certified to stand trial as an adult.

As the basis for his guilty plea, Velez agreed to the truthfulness of an account of the events surrounding Kaden Harper's death that were detailed in an affidavit written by Saline County Sheriff's Office investigator Matt Fischer.

What he agreed to

According to the affidavit:

Deputies went to the family's rural Assaria home at 2:22 p.m. June 1, 2010, after receiving a call from Velez, who said that he had shot his stepbrother.

When the first deputy arrived, he saw a neighbor woman leaning over Kaden Harper, who was lying on the front deck. Harper's face was bloody, and there was a bullet hole under his right eye.

Although a dispatcher had advised Velez on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the deputy saw no blood on Velez's face to indicate that he had attempted to perform CPR. Velez was walking around the north side of the house after chaining up dogs when the deputy arrived.

The deputy said that while he talked to Velez, Velez didn't cry, break down or ask about Kaden's condition. The deputy said Velez appeared to be calm.

In early accounts of the shooting that Velez gave to deputies, Velez said that a large, black snake had slithered into the house when he opened the door. He said he grabbed a loaded gun from the top of the refrigerator to shoot the snake, which he said was on the floor in front of the couch, hissing. His stepbrother dove in front of the gun when it went off, Velez said initially.

Details of the story varied in multiple retellings, according to the affidavit, with the snake sometimes leaving on its own and sometimes being chased outside by Velez before and after the shooting.

Velez said he dragged Kaden onto the front porch after he shot him "to get him away from the expensive stuff in the house because he saw there was a lot of blood," according to the affidavit.

Need to tell the truth

Deputy Linda Shea, who knew the boys because she worked as a school police officer at their school, interviewed Velez. She pointed out discrepancies in Velez's stories and told him he needed to tell the truth.

She told him a neighbor had told deputies about hearing the boys argue earlier in the day and receiving a visit from Kaden Harper, who told her he was angry at Velez.

Velez then said he and Kaden had been arguing both inside and outside the house about how to do chores. He'd previously stated that the boys were expected to break up cinder blocks for the gravel driveway and cut limbs off trees in the backyard.

They had gone inside the house for a break, when they began arguing again, Velez said. He said Kaden had called him names and accused him of lying. Velez said he got the gun, pointed it at Kaden and cocked it to scare him. He said he didn't intend to fire the gun and was slowly releasing the hammer so the gun wouldn't fire when his thumb slipped and the gun went off.

After further questioning, Velez said he "let the anger take over him and when he went to de-cock the hammer he let it go because he hated what Kaden said," according to the affidavit.

.357 magnum, close range

The handgun was a Western Marshall .357 magnum single-action revolver. The gun contained five live .38-caliber jacketed hollow-point bullets and one fired .38-caliber shell casing in the barrel position behind the firing hammer.

The autopsy showed that the gun was fired close to Kaden's face.

Kevin Harper, Velez's stepfather, told deputies he had used the gun to shoot at coyotes that were getting near the house a couple of months before. He left the gun on top of the refrigerator, intending to put it back in the locked gun locker under the bed, but then forgot.

Angela Harper said the only other unsecured weapons in the house were a .380-caliber semi-automatic weapon she kept on a stand in the bedroom and an air rifle in the living room.

Everything was fine

She said the boys typically stayed home while their parents were at work, and acquaintances would check on them. She said that on the day of the shooting, she had talked to Velez on the phone at lunchtime, and he was fixing pork chops for the boys to eat.

She said nothing seemed out of the ordinary until Velez called her at 2:15 p.m., frantically saying Kaden had been shot and was dead and something about a snake.

http://www.salina.com/news/story/velez-9-27-11