Teen pleads not guilty to shooting man in the back on Fourth of July

CASPER, Wyo. — A Casper teen pleaded not guilty Tuesday to shooting a man in the back on the Fourth of July.

Adolfo Aceves Jr., born 2005, appeared before Judge Kerri Johnson while out on a $100,000 surety bond for arraignment on a single charge of aggravated assault and battery with a drawn deadly weapon, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Aceves is presumed innocent unless proven or pleading guilty.

Casper police said hundreds of residents, including families, were gathered at Mathew Campfield Park, 1219 N. Beech St., on the night of the Fourth of July. Police got a report around 10:10 p.m. that a man had been shot and the unknown shooter had fled the scene. Police found the victim, a man in his late 40’s, with a single gunshot wound in his back. The bullet shattered the upper section of his right hip, according to a police review of the later medical records. Surgery was needed to repair the damage and extract the bullet, which was kept for evidence, according to the affidavit.

A Casper Polive Department spokesperson told Oil City News last summer that the altercation between the youths and the victim began when a preschool-aged child was injured with a firework.

A witness identified Aceves as the shooter the next day, saying they recognized his distinctive straight-cut bangs and dark hair.  A video provided showed the shooting suspect with the hood up on a black Nike sweater. In the video the victim approaches another young man in the group and shoves him. The others, including the shooting suspect, gather around.

The male in the “Nike”-printed sweater is seen holding the gun and firing a single shot into the back of the victim, after which several people begin yelling and everyone runs in various directions, the affidavit said.

Detective Leonard Jacobs spoke to Aceves the next day. Aceves said he had been wearing a Nike hoodie the day before, but claimed he had left the park with a friend before the shooting and had gotten Wendy’s.

Det. Jacobs met with more witnesses in early September and saw a new video of the incident. It showed the victim and another male in a back-and-forth shoving match, the victim unaware that Aceves is behind him training the gun on his head.

After firing at the victim’s lower back, Aceves’s face is clearly visible while running away, the affidavit said. Jacobs noted that the face was identifiable as Aceves’s due to previous interactions and his driver’s license photo.

Det. Jacobs signed the warrant request on Sept 17. On Sept 25, detectives responded to a tip that Aceves was returning from Glenrock and pulled him over after exiting Interstate 25. He was taken in custody without further incident