It turned out to be the final ride for Carl D. Phelps when he pedaled his bicycle along 30th Avenue South last Friday evening in Des Moines.
Phelps, who was pushing a second bicycle, rode past the Shoreham Apartments, 22815 30th Ave. S., when a 10-year-old girl pushing her toddler brother in a stroller said something to Phelps about how she wanted one of the bicycles.
Phelps, 41, of Kent, reportedly replied in jest that he would trade the bike for the child.
That led to a verbal argument between Phelps and several nearby teens, who eventually ended up in the apartment complex parking lot in a confrontation with Phelps. One teenage boy allegedly knocked Phelps off his bicycle.
A second teenage boy reportedly pulled out a gun, pointed it at Phelps and shot him. Phelps later died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
On Thursday, King County prosecutors filed a second-degree murder charge against 15-year-old Alexander Crisostomo, of Des Moines, for killing Phelps. Crisostomo also faces charges of possessing a stolen firearm, first-degree burglary and theft of a firearm, according to court documents.
A judge will decide later this year whether Crisostomo should be charged as an adult, according to Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Des Moines Police arrested Crisostomo and Chris H. Martinez, 14, of Des Moines, on May 9, at their homes. Both are Pacific Middle School students. Martinez faces charges of first-degree burglary, theft of a firearm, possessing a stolen firearm and taking a motor vehicle without permission. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Juvenile Court.
The two boys reportedly broke into a Des Moines home on April 28 in the 24400 block of 24th Avenue South and stole two semi-automatic handguns, ammunition and numerous electronic items, according to charging papers.
Crisostomo allegedly used one of those guns to shoot Phelps. After the shooting, he tossed the gun into a wooded area a couple of blocks from the apartment complex. A K-9 unit with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found the gun. The dog is trained to detect gun powder.
Detectives used a search warrant to search Crisostomo’s home in the 24000 block of 24th Avenue South and found a box of ammunition for the gun under a set of bunk beds in the boy’s bedroom.
Crisostomo told detectives he and a group of juveniles he was with became involved in a verbal argument with Phelps. He said he removed the gun from his waistband during the confrontation and pointed it at Phelps. He claimed Phelps punched him in the face with a chain wrapped around his hand and that he accidentally fired the gun into the air. He said he then pointed the gun at Phelps again because he panicked and shot him. He said he fled on foot and threw the gun away.
Martinez told police he participated in the burglary and knew two guns were stolen. He said Crisostomo retained one of the guns and he took the other one, which he later sold. He said he saw Crisostomo shoot Phelps in the parking lot after the verbal argument.
Witnesses told detectives that several teens had surrounded Phelps in the apartment parking lot near the Dumpster and that Phelps said something about wanting his keys back. A witness said the boys seemed to be bullying Phelps, who was trying to leave. The witnesses ran when they saw one of the boys pull out a gun. They said they heard two gunshots as they fled.
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