Affadavit Reveals Details in Eastridge Mall Stabbing
Two fifteen year olds have been charged after the stabbing incident at the Eastridge Mall in Casper on Sunday.
The juveniles appeared by video in Natrona County Circuit court yesterday afternoon for initial appearances.
Jarreth Joseflee Sabastian Plunkett has been charged with first degree murder, a felony punishable by death or life in prison. He is also charged with conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault and battery, and petty theft.
Alleged co-conspirator Dominque Antonio Richard Harris is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault and battery, and petty theft. He, too, faces a possible life sentence.
Plunkett is being held on a $500,000 cash only bond and Harris on a $450,000 cash only bond.
The investigation began on April 7 at 1:41 p.m. when officers responded to the west side of the Eastridge Mall near the Hibachi grill and found an unconscious individual identified as Robert Dean Maher Jr. who had suffered two stab wounds.
First responders immediately began performing CPR. Sadly, Maher did not survive.
According to an affadavit supporting the charges, multiple people witnessed the incident, advising that there had been an altercation between the victim and two suspects -- "JJ and Dom."
One source told investigators that he had been with Maher leading up to the events. He alleges that Maher's girlfriend called and claimed JJ and Dom were following her and another girl around the mall. The source said he and Maher then got a ride to the mall to "keep the girls safe" and tried to get Plunkett and Harris outside.
Allegedly, once they were outside the exterior entrance doors to the mall, Harris slammed Maher to the ground and Plunkett began stabbing him in the abdomen region.
The source says several adults came up to the scene and began providing CPR.
Video Footage from the Incident
One of the witnesses at the scene recorded the incident. Court records say the incident depicts one person aggressively pursuing Maher. He had a ski mask covering his face and appeared to be carrying a knife in his right hand.
Maher is seen backing away with his hands up as the masked person walked towards him. The video shows Maher being backed up in large circles, at one point he was near the back door but was unable to get back inside the mall because numerous other juveniles were gathered around it.
A second individual is also seen wearing a face covering. At one point in the video it looks like he moves into a position to flank the back of the victim, wrapping his arms around his waist, lifting him off the ground, and slamming him down with great force onto his left side. He is seen holding Maher while the other person stabbed him twice.
Harris' Statement
Officers located Plunkett and Harris at the 500 block of Long Lane and transported them to the Casper Police Department.
Harris told police that two weeks prior he and Plunkett had gone into a port-a-potty together. When they exited, he says Maher called them "freaks." He claims that on Friday, April 5th he and Harris were in an alley in Evansville when they saw some of Maher's friends. Plunkett allegedly asked one of the friends if they wanted to pay Maher's "blood debt." The group split up and went their seperate ways.
Harris alleges that on April 7th, the day of the stabbing, Maher called Plunkett on Snapchat and they were talking about fighting. He said he and Plunkett were dropped off at the mall at about 11:40 a.m. and were supposed to be picked up about two hours later. He told police that they took their "shiesty's" (thin neoprene ski masks) with them.
Harris claims they went into Best Buy to play Hide and Seek.
An earlier version of this article included allegations made by Harris. We have omitted that section because the allegations were inaccurately represented.
Harris says they later went to Target afterwards and stole kitchen knives, then went to the food court.
Soonafter they saw Maher exiting DICK's Sporting Goods in the mall. That's when Harris said they confronted him. Harris admitted throwing Maher to the ground and punching him. He said he was only holding Maher down to make sure the fight was over. He acknowledged that he saw Plunkett stab Maher.
Plunkett and Harris allegedly ran westbound through the parking lot. Plunkett threw his knife in the snow by the entrance onto Wyoming Boulevard.
Harris says they ditched their ski masks and a vape pen before locating an elderly man who allowed them to call Plunkett's parents.
Plunkett's Statement
Plunkett told police that on April 7th his step-father had been arguing with Maher over voice call on SnapChat and that multiple threats to Plunkett's safety were made, causing him to be concerned.
At about 11:40 a.m. he and Harris went to the mall.
He says they brought masks because "all they wanted to do was cause trouble."
Once in the mall they saw a group of kids they knew, as well as another group they had "problems" with. Plunkett claims he had been pressured to fight Maher. A verbal altercation occured outside DICK's, and at that point a large gathering began to form.
Plunkett says he began to push, slap, and punch Maher, who did not retaliate. Then Harris allegedly grabbed Maher and threw him down. Then another male in all black with a red shiesty covering his face approached Maher and he "saw" Maher get stabbed. He then saw Harris running and decided to go with him.
Plunkett said he didn't want to start a problem but Harris did.
Further statement from Plunkett allege that he was the one to stab Maher. He stated that when he pulled the knife from his pocket Maher told him to "put the knife away, this isn't fair." To which Plunkett responded, "I don't play fair."
He told police he ditched the knife and the ski mask while running from the scene.
He also admitted to stealing two kitchen knives from Target as well as Red Bulls and Sour Straws candy.
Ensuing Investigation
At the time of the offense, Plunkett was on active probation for possession of controlled substances.
The shoplifting Plunkett confessed to was verified through the store's video surveillance footage.
Officers were able to recover the knife Plunkett says he used to stab Maher.
Officers also located the discarded ski masks.
Both Harris and Plunkett's statements regarding their physical contact with Maher connected with the video footage obtained.
Both Harris and Plunkett admitted Maher made no attempt to strike anyone.
These facts were all reverberated through numerous eye witness accounts.
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