CASPER, Wyo. — A witness’s cellphone video shows that the victim of a fatal stabbing at the Eastridge Mall last Sunday “clearly did not want to fight,” according to the Casper Police Department report in circuit court.
The victim was identified by the coroner’s office on Tuesday as 14-year-old Robert “Bobby” Dean Maher Jr. of Casper.
His friend told police they had gone to the mall because Maher’s girlfriend was there and had called Maher to say there were two guys following her around.
15-year-old Jarreth Joseflee Sebastian Plunkett was charged as an adult on Monday with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the same. Investigators say Plunkett told his co-defendant, 15-year-old Dominique Harris, that he was going to “gut that dude” three days before the confrontation at the mall, according to the affidavit.
Harris is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The video shows Harris grabbing the victim by the waist, slamming him to the ground, and punching him in the face while Plunkett swings the the knife, stabbing the victim twice in the chest and abdomen, according to the report.
They are presumed innocent until proven or pleading guilty.
Witnesses saw Plunkett and Harris laughing and pointing as they ran off while the witnesses attempted first aid, Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson said at their initial appearance.
First responders got the call at 1:41 p.m. Sunday, April 7. Plunkett and Harris were found quickly in the neighborhood nearby. The balaclava-style masks they allegedly wore were found in the parking lot. The kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon was found in the grassy area by the Outer Drive stoplight.
Security footage from Target shows the defendants shoplifting the knives, Red Bulls and candy, the report said.
Statements in the affidavit indicate the victim and the defendants were schoolmates at Dean Morgan Junior High. Multiple statements indicate that they had encountered each other at a park in Evansville over spring break, where Maher is said to have called Harris and Plunkett “freaks.”
Statements were collected saying that Harris and Plunkett had later confronted Maher’s girlfriend, asking about where Maher was. Plunkett told police that his stepfather had been arguing with Maher on Snapchat the morning of April 7, and that Plunkett had concerns for his safety, according to the affidavit.
While at the mall with a group of friends on April 7, they saw Maher’s girlfriend.
When Maher arrived, discussions within the group reportedly ran toward confrontation, and everyone moved outside the west entrance to the Hibachi Grill.
When Plunkett allegedly pulled out the knife, Maher reportedly said, “Put the knife away, this isn’t fair,” to which Plunkett reportedly replied, “I don’t play fair.” Plunkett then reportedly punched Maher in the face and stabbed him after Harris threw him to the ground.
Another male reportedly kicked Maher after the attack.
Investigators asked multiple witnesses about whether it was possible that Maher was summoned to the mall as part of a setup, and all denied it.
The state asked for a $1 million cash-only bond for both defendants at their initial appearance. The court ultimately set bond at $500,000 cash only for Plunkett and $450,000 cash-only for Harris, whom Nelson called “an inseparable component of this plan.”
First-degree homicide carries a penalty of life in prison (without or without the possibility of parole), or death.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct a defendant’s first name to “Jarreth”
