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Published April 23, 2006 12:00 am - Judge:Suspects to remain in custody The Joplin Globe By Derek Spellman
Globe Staff Writer RIVERTON, Kan. - Charges still have not been filed, but five students suspected of plotting a shooting rampage at Riverton High School will remain in custody until at least Monday afternoon. District Judge Robert Fleming early Saturday signed an affidavit, which is sealed in Kansas, stating there was probable cause to believe a crime was committed, said Jan Lunsford, a spokesman for Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who is handling the case. Lunsford said in a Globe telephone interview the affidavit needed to be signed early Saturday for authorities to keep the students in custody beyond 48 hours without charges. "All it means is that they can be held and the investigation can be continued," Lunsford said. Kline had announced late Friday in Topeka that he would determine early this week whether to file criminal charges, and if so, what those charges would be and whether to have the four juveniles tried as adults. Separate bond hearings for each of the five suspects have been set for 2 p.m. Monday in Cherokee County District Court, Lunsford said. The five students range in age from 15 to 18, and are being held on a $500,000 bond each. Fleming on Friday approved orders granting writs of habeas corpus for two of the suspects, Caleb Byrd and James Tillman, both 16. Those orders required the two to be presented at 2 p.m. Monday in Cherokee County District Court so the court could determine whether they had been lawfully incarcerated. Lunsford said Fleming will take up both the bond hearings and the habeas corpus orders on Monday in one proceeding. Whether the hearings are open to the public will be at the court's discretion, he said. The four teenagers younger than 18 were being held at a juvenile detention center in Girard. The 18-year-old suspect was in the Cherokee County Jail. Attorney Sam Marsh, who is representing Tillman, said he was not aware Fleming had signed the probable-cause affidavit or set the bond hearings until contacted by the Globe on Saturday afternoon. "I think they wanted to keep these kids in jail," he said. JoAnna Derfelt, the attorney for a 15-year-old suspect, also said she was not aware until contacted by the Globe. "Nothing official has been communicated to us (the defense attorneys)," said Derfelt, whose client had not been named in any public court document. "I've been surprised by the lack of courtesy information in this case." 
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