Sixth teenager pleads not guilty to murder charge in Olathe killing near Black Bob Park
A 14-year-old defendant accused of first-degree murder in the killing of 19-year-old Marco Cardino near Black Bob Park in Olathe last month pleaded not guilty to the charge during a hearing Wednesday in Johnson County District Court.
The juvenile made his first court appearance late Wednesday morning alongside his lawyer and mother, according to court records. He was escorted there from the Juvenile Detention Center, where he has been in custody since mid-May.
Cardino, of Smithville, was found fatally shot in his car near Black Bob Park in the early hours of May 14. Authorities believe he was killed as he was being robbed of marijuana that he agreed to sell the children. He died at the scene.
The plea of not guilty is the sixth entered as five other juveniles who have been criminally charged in Cardino’s killing have also entered not guilty pleas. The Star is not naming the defendants because they are minors.
Four of the defendants are 14 years old and the Johnson County prosecutor has filed motions to charge them as adults. The other two will not be tried as adults because they are 13.
All four 14-year-olds, including the defendant who appeared in court Wednesday, are charged under Kansas’ felony murder statute. The law allows for murder charges against a person committing a felony that led to the killing of a person. In the Cardino case, the underlying alleged offense is aggravated robbery.
Several aspects of the case have remained shielded from public view based on the reasoning that the criminal defendants are juveniles. The Star requested disclosure of probable cause affidavits — documents that describe the basis for criminal charges — but the court ordered last week that they be sealed.
In a related case, prosecutors said one of the juveniles — a 13-year-old girl who voluntarily came forward to law enforcement with information about the killing — admitted to sneaking out of the house with the other 13-year-old and being picked up by another defendant.
She allegedly described a marijuana deal involving Cardino, known to the group through a school friend, whom they arranged to meet at Black Bob Park. She allegedly told detectives that she believed it was the boys’ plan the entire time to steal the marijuana, according to prosecutors.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.
