Witnesses at hearing reveal details of Chaviz Nguyen's death

One of three teenagers charged in the death of Chaviz Nguyen in a 2023 car-to-car shooting appeared in court hoping the judge would find there was not enough evidence to link him to the murder.

This does not happen. The trial against César Bolanos will continue.

Following a preliminary hearing on May 16, Bolanos, 17, remains charged with the Class A felony of first-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, the Class B felony of assault and battery, first degree and two counts of class A. felony unlawful use of a weapon causing death or injury.

After hearing from five witnesses, Greene County Associate Circuit Judge Jody Stockard found probable cause to send the case against Bolanos back to circuit court. Bolanos was arraigned by Circuit Court Judge Kaiti Greenewade on Friday, May 24.

Nguyen, 26, was a passenger in a car driven by his girlfriend on Grant Avenue near College Street on the night of Nov. 14, 2023. Police said a car full of teenagers pulled up alongside of Nguyen and his girlfriend and shot at the vehicle. couple then fled.

Nguyen's girlfriend was shot several times, but survived. Nguyen died at the scene of the shooting.

Timothy Hester, 17, and Elysha Bedell, 19, are also charged with Nguyen's murder.

All three teens are being held without bail. Bedell is in the Greene County Jail.

Although Bolanos and Hester are both charged with crimes in adult court, they are being held at the Greene County Juvenile Detention Center in Springfield as their case progresses.

Witness: Bolanos hid his gun and tried to fire bullets while police knocked on the door

A prosecutors' witness called during the preliminary hearing testified that Bolanos was in his apartment, holding an “AR-style pistol,” which law enforcement officers wrote in court documents he s It was a .223 caliber AR pistol, an hour or two before the fatal shooting. November 14.

She testified that Hester and the others took her car that night around the same time as the shooting and that when they returned, it appeared that the rear window of her car's windshield had been smashed. torn off.

She testified that when law enforcement officers descended on her apartment the next day – where Bedell, Bolanos and Hester were hanging out – Bolanos rushed to the bathroom and tried to take apart a gun and hide it. She testified that Bolanos also tried to flush bullets down her toilet while police knocked on the apartment door.

This same witness – someone who had a relationship with Hester – testified that she knew that Bolanos, Hester and Bedell were “affiliated” with the ODB (Only Da Brothers) gang. But she stopped on the witness stand and said she believed they were actually members of the gang.

Stuart Huffman, Bolanos' defense attorney, explained to the witness why she did not call the police and put herself in a safer position.

“It’s not that simple,” said the woman.

Was a fourth person involved?

Witnesses who testified at Bolanos' preliminary hearing mentioned the nickname or first name of at least one other person who may have been involved in the car-to-car shooting.

But so far, police have not publicly named any other suspects in the killing.

A witness said there was another person with the trio on the day of the shooting.

Another witness who took the stand May 16 said Bedell called him later that evening and asked for a ride. That witness said he picked up Bedell and three others and took them in a car.

This witness said he did not remember where he dropped them off, but he did remember seeing a “drum” (slang for an ammunition magazine) in Balonos' belt. That witness said another man – someone other than the three accused of murder – dropped a weapon that appeared to be an AR pistol when that person got out of the witness' vehicle.

This witness was evasive in his answers and claimed not to remember the details. He explained that he had taken “shrooms” the night before. Addicts ingest psilocybin mushrooms to produce an effect that may include hallucinations. This witness testified that he had been subpoenaed.

When asked if he had provided marijuana to the teens, the man responded, “I plead the Fifth.” »

Motive for deadly shooting unclear

According to the probable cause statement filed against Bedell, a witness told investigators she was aware of an ongoing argument between Bedell and a friend of Nguyen's related to a past homicide.

Nguyen's girlfriend, Haley Frillman, was the first witness called to testify during Bolanos' preliminary hearing. Frillman was pregnant with Nguyen's baby at the time of the shooting. Frillman was shot several times, but she survived and gave birth.

Nguyen's father, Chea Nguyen, told a KY3 reporter that he believed the homicide was a case of mistaken identity — that the vehicle Nguyen and Frillman were in that night looked like the one in ” someone they were looking for.”

“My son didn’t know them,” Chea Nguyen told KY3.

On the witness stand, Frillman said she did not recognize Bolanos outside of the court proceedings.

Police found the three suspects in part thanks to surveillance footage from Acme Transportation that captured the suspect vehicle as it drove through different Springfield neighborhoods.

Armed with a license plate number and the car's specific characteristics, Springfield police identified the car's registered owner and went to his apartment on November 15. There, officers found Hester trying to get out in the vehicle, as well as Bedell and Bolanos inside the apartment. .

Nguyen's girlfriend also shot but survived

Haley Frillman's baby, just months old, slept peacefully in a baby carrier throughout the nearly two-hour hearing on May 16.

Frillman testified that she and Nguyen had just dropped Nguyen's older son off at his grandparents' house, and the couple was heading to a restaurant between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on November 14.

As they traveled north on the Kansas Expressway in central Springfield, Frillman said Nguyen noticed a dark sedan “filled with men staring at our car.”

Frillman said the sedan was “window to window” on the right side of his vehicle – Nguyen’s side. She testified that the sedan continued to follow her vehicle's speed, then followed her as she turned east onto Chestnut Expressway. She said the sedan disappeared for a few moments, then reappeared on the left side of her vehicle, again following her speed and driving “window to window.” As she turned onto Grant Avenue, she heard gunshots.

Frillman remembers seeing Nguyen unconscious in the passenger seat. She didn't have a cell phone, so she drove to a busy intersection, stopped the car and screamed for help.

Frillman said she couldn't see or recognize any of the faces in the dark sedan and didn't remember exactly how many gunshots she heard.

“A ton,” she said. “I couldn’t give you an idea.”

Frillman said she was shot in the leg and finger. When asked if her injuries affected her pregnancy, Frillman said yes.

“With my leg, it caused two blood clots,” she said, explaining that this meant she had to take blood thinners and was being treated for a “high-risk” pregnancy.

“I was stuck in a wheelchair for I don’t know how long,” Frillman said.

When asked if the shooting had any effects on her baby, Frillman said the child was born with “tremors.”

“They said it could be trauma related,” she said. The tremors, she says, have disappeared and the baby is now healthy.

Suspect paralyzed following 2019 shooting

Bedell, who is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair, is scheduled to attend a case management conference Sept. 17, 2024, in the courtroom of Greene County Circuit Judge Todd Myers.

Months before Nguyen's death, Bedell was charged with possession of a controlled substance and tampering with a vehicle.

According to probable cause in this case, Bedell was a suspect in a shooting on July 30, 2019, during which Bedell suffered gunshot wounds that left him paralyzed. Another person involved in the 2019 shooting was “uncooperative,” so no charges were filed, a police officer wrote in the report.

Photos of the 17-year-old suspects are not available

Bill Prince, Greene County Family Court administrator and chief juvenile case officer, said there are no publicly available booking photos of Bolanos or Hester because the teens are not incarcerated in the Greene County Jail.

Although they are charged as adults, Bolanos and Hester will likely remain in the juvenile detention center until they turn 18, Prince said. At that time, they will be booked into the Greene County Jail.

Other reasons they could be released from the center include bail, if the charges are dropped or if they are deemed too dangerous for the juvenile facility and are incarcerated in the adult jail. But none of those scenarios seem likely at the moment, Prince said.

Hester will have a motion hearing on May 29, in Judge Stockard's courtroom.

Bolanos is scheduled to attend a case management conference Aug. 27 in Judge Greenwade's courtroom.