Teenager pleads not guilty to pistol-whipping Casper…

CASPER – A 19-year-old Cheyenne man has pleaded not guilty pistol-whipping a 21-year-old and shooting into a car with three people in it in the early morning hours of August 31.

Jeremy David Lakey appeared in Natrona County District Court with public defender Dylan Rosalez as he was arraigned before Judge Catherine Wilking on Thursday. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs and leg chains. A large star tattoo was visible on the right side of the neck, another tattoo on the right forearm.

Judge Wilking read the charges against the teenager which include three counts of aggravated assault and battery, one count of destruction and defacement of property over $1,000 and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent.

Lakey told the judge he understood the charges against him.

“How do you plead?” she asked.

“Innocent,” he said.

Rosalez asked the judge to consider reducing his bond from $100,000 cash to $20,000 cash or surety. He said his client worked as an apprentice electrician in Laramie County before the charges against him.

Assistant District Attorney Jeff Meyer said “the charges speak for themselves” and argued that the bond should remain where it was because of Lakey’s “significant juvenile history.”

“I think bail is appropriate,” the judge ruled, agreeing with the prosecutor.

accusations

An arrest affidavit alleges Lakey pistol whipped a 21-year-old Casper man he had been drinking with on Aug. 31 inside a vehicle and then fired a 9mm handgun into a car inside three among the cousins ​​of the 21-year-old. They had pulled into a Casper neighborhood to check it out.

Two of the aggravated assault charges involve the alleged 21-year-old victim of the shooting, and the third involves threatening him and allegedly shooting a 22-year-old cousin who showed up in the car.

An 18-year-old cousin who was driving the car told Casper police that Lakey shot at the 22-year-old, missed and hit his car, according to the affidavit.

The three counts of aggravated assault and battery against Lakey each carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison. The charge of destroying and defacing property also carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Rash of Teen Crime

The charges against Lakey are one of a series of violent crimes by teenagers in Casper and follow what a 15-year-old allegedly said “I hope I killed one” after shooting up a trailer on August 12 and two murders of teenagers in the city earlier this year.

Two teenagers face charges of first-degree murder, accused of stabbing a 14-year-old died in a local mall, and another is charged as an adult for allegedly shooting them Ex-girlfriend of 17 years.

Dale Killingbeck can be contacted at [email protected].