By Fred Gough ~ Hutch Post
Two of the three suspects charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery made court appearances this morning where Magistrate Judge Randy McEwen read the complaints against 32-year-old Kylie Hartman and 34-year-old Jason Casanova at the same time. The two actually appeared in court for the brief hearing as opposed to appearing on video.
Those two along with 27-year-old Matthew Barnes are all charged in the case, and according to the criminal complaint, conspired with each other to commit or assist in the commission of the crime of aggravated robbery. That’s defined as taking of property by force or threat of bodily harm, while one or more of the co-conspirators was armed with a handgun.
Casanova while in court acted as though he didn’t understand the charge, and it was explained to him by the judge. No change in bond was made for either one.
Casanova will be back in court on September 19 to see if he’s hired an attorney, but the judge also scheduled both for the September 22 waiver-status docket in front of Judge Joe McCarville.
The charge says that one of the conspirators drove the other two to the location where they believed the intended victim lived, namely someone with the initials K. R. One of the conspirators then armed themselves with the handgun, and one of the conspirators hid or destroyed the handgun after the failed aggravated robbery, and that one or more of the conspirators entered into the residence they believed K. R. was in.
Although the state won’t confirm or deny at this point that the case has anything to do with the murder of Jennifer Heckel, some of her family members were in the courtroom for the brief hearing.
The complaint says only that it occurred in June of this year. Heckel was shot to death in her northwest Hutchinson home on June 14. She was at home with her small son, while her husband was working out of town. Her husband was cleared of any suspicion early on in the investigation.
Barnes whose bond is set at a half million dollars is being held at the Butler County Jail in El Dorado and is expected to be in court to hear the formal complaint against him.
Brian Martinez, a friend of Casanova was upset at the trouble his friend is in. He spoke with the media briefly.