Murder with deadly weapon charge levied against teen

Jean Reid Norman and Ed Koch

Wednesday, April 28, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.

A bail hearing was set for 10 a.m. Monday in the case of a 15-year-old who shot his best friend while playing with a gun he thought was unloaded.

Jake Reeder, who is being held in the Clark County Detention Center, was charged as an adult this morning with murder with the use of a deadly weapon before Henderson Justice of the Peace Stephen George.

He was charged in the death of 14-year-old Dustin Osborn under state law that makes an involuntary killing that occurs in connection with an unlawful act a murder, District Attorney David Roger said.

"It's a starting point," Roger said Tuesday. "Justice may ultimately require that he be given other considerations, maybe even Juvenile Court."

Clark County Public Defender Philip Kohn, however, disagrees that second-degree murder should be the starting point.

"This was at the very least an accident, which is not against the law, and at the very most involuntary manslaughter," said Kohn, who has testified before the Legislature against automatically putting children charged with murder through the adult system.

Kohn this morning argued in George's chambers that the court had no jurisdiction in the case, that it belonged in Juvenile Court, Kohn said. George didn't rule on that matter, setting a preliminary hearing in his courtroom for 9:30 a.m. May 10.

Kohn then asked George in court to release Reeder from the Clark County Detention Center and place him on house arrest.

"He's a 15-year-old kid -- where's he going to go?" Kohn said before this morning's hearing, noting that bail is set at a level to assure a defendant will not flee. "It is wrong to keep him in the adult jail. The liability to the county is incredible should something happen to Jake while he is there."

Deputy District Attorney Giancarlo Pesci argued against release, especially house arrest, noting, "Home is where this crime occurred. He should not be released."

George said he needed additional information about the boy before deciding whether he should allow bail.

Reeder told police that his best friend Osborn had skipped school to spend his birthday with Reeder, who had Wednesdays off from the alternative school he attended, according to an arrest report. The two smoked marijuana and found a .45-caliber handgun hidden in the washing machine, according to the report.

After Osborn tried to remove the bullets from the gun, the two "played FBI," the police report said, and Reeder shot Osborn in the back of the neck.

Wearing prison fatigues, a crew cut and shackles, Reeder this morning read the complaint in George's courtroom after it was handed to him by a bailiff.

After the hearing Reeder's mother and father, two brothers and two family friends gathered around Kohn and co-counsels Bob Amundson and Curtis Brown.

The family declined to comment to the media.

Roger had said Tuesday that once a preliminary hearing date was set, prosecutors and defense attorneys could meet to decide the best way to proceed with the case. It could be sent to Juvenile Court at that point, he said.

Roger said that he was simply following the law in starting with the murder charge. The crimes committed in connection with the shooting included assault with a deadly weapon, aiming a firearm and drawing a firearm in a deadly manner.

"The statute says that even an accident, if it is the result of committing an unlawful act, (is) considered murder," Roger said. "We strive to be consistent in pleading a case."

Henderson Police booked Reeder into the Clark County Detention Center on a first-degree murder charge. Nevada law says children 8 and older who are charged with murder must be treated as adults.

As for why police booked Reeder on murder charges, Henderson Police spokesman Officer Shane Lewis said, "We had probable cause to make the arrest. That is what we did."

Metro Police handled a similar shooting differently. When 14-year-old Erica Mendoza was shot and killed last month by her brother while he played with a gun, police made no arrests immediately. The case was investigated and submitted to the district attorney's office to decide whether to press charges, Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said.

Roger said his office would decide later this week whether to charge Rocky Mendoza. He said the same laws applied to Reeder would be examined in the Mendoza case.

Lewis said Henderson police officers make arrests when they have probable cause. "It's our duty," he said, adding, " We handle every case based upon the merits of the case."

"A situation like this is always tragic, regardless of which side you're on," Lewis added.

Richard Perkins, a Henderson Police deputy chief and Assembly speaker, agreed probable cause was the reason for the arrest, though he added, "If it was an accident, there was no crime."

When asked if there had been an alternative that would have placed Reeder into the juvenile system immediately, Perkins said, "We hate to experiment on anyone... but we will take a look at this kid and see if there are any problems. Maybe we'll need to change our policy."