HOT SPRINGS -- Prosecutors have waived the death penalty for two Hot Springs teens charged with capital murder in the March shooting death of an area man.
Laquan Vontae Paskel, 18, and Morgan Bailey Tollefson, who turned 19 on Monday, both appeared Tuesday in Garland County Circuit Court and pleaded innocent to felony charges of capital murder, punishable by up to life in prison; aggravated robbery; and theft of property over $1,000, punishable by up to six years, in the death of Keon Lashawn Jackson, 21, on March 23.
They could have faced the death penalty on the capital murder charges, but it was waived during Tuesday's hearing. If convicted, they would face automatic sentences of life in prison.
A gag order limiting pretrial publicity in the case, previously issued in Garland County District Court, was reissued Tuesday in circuit court. Paskel, who was arrested March 24, and Tollefson, who was arrested March 25, are both set to appear again Aug. 6 for a hearing to determine the admissibility of any statements they made to Hot Springs police.
Both remained in custody Wednesday in lieu of $750,000 bond. At the time of her arrest, Tollefson was also charged with two counts of failure to appear, but both have been adjudicated through time served.
According to the affidavit for Paskel, on March 23, shortly before 2:30 a.m., police responded to 241 Autumn St. regarding a possible shooting and arrived to find Jackson in front of the apartments in a large pool of blood. He was later pronounced dead, and an initial examination revealed what appeared to be a gunshot wound in the right side of his neck.
During the investigation, a witness, identified as Tollefson, told police that a male she knew as Booman, whose first name she believed was Laquan, asked her if she could get a half-ounce of marijuana, authorities said.
She said she called Jackson and he agreed to sell her the marijuana for $80, according to the affidavit. She said Booman was going to pay for the marijuana and wanted Jackson to meet him in the 700 block of Spring Street, the affidavit said. Tollefson said she went to the location and saw Jackson's car in the parking lot, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, she said that as she opened the passenger-side door of the car, Booman and an unknown black male ran up to the driver's-side door. She said Booman opened the door, pointed a handgun at Jackson and shot "four to five times," the affidavit said.
Tollefson said Jackson crawled over the passenger seat and through the passenger-side door and fled on foot toward Grand Avenue, according to the affidavit. Autumn Street, where Jackson was found, runs parallel to Spring Street.
After Jackson fled, the shooter got into the driver's seat and pulled Tollefson inside through the passenger door, the affidavit said. She said the shooter then drove to a vacant lot off Convention Boulevard where he searched through the car and then fled on foot, leaving her behind, according to the affidavit.
Police said they later identified Booman as Paskel through his Facebook page and a previous mug shot. Authorities said Tollefson confirmed he was the person who shot Jackson. She also took detectives to a vacant lot on Spargo Street where Jackson's car was parked, authorities said.
On March 24, after Paskel was arrested, he was questioned and admitted that he and Tollefson arranged a meeting with Jackson and planned to rob him, police said. When Jackson arrived at the meeting place, Paskel said, he opened the driver's door, pointed a revolver at Jackson and demanded "everything he had," authorities said.
Paskel claimed that Jackson reached for a gun and Paskel shot him before he could get it, authorities said. He said Jackson then fled on foot and that he and Tollefson got into Jackson's car and drove away, authorities said.
According to the affidavit for Tollefson, police later obtained an email with screenshots of the conversation between Tollefson and Jackson. "These messages indicated Tollefson had more of an involvement in the planning and execution of the robbery," it states, resulting in the arrest of Tollefson on March 25.
Metro on 06/06/2019