Thursday, July 30, 2009

The 15-year-old boy who is accused of shooting a Cambridge, KS, volunteer firefighter was charged in district court Friday.

KAKE News is not identifying the boy due to his age and the fact that he is currently being prosecuted as a juvenile. However, Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith is not ruling out the possibility of trying the boy as an adult.

The boy has been charged with attempted first degree murder for the shooting of 34-year-old Angela Krepps at her rural Cambridge home earlier this week. An alternative charge of aggravated battery could be filed instead, as well as aggravated burglary.

Krepps reported hearing suspicious noises outside her home in the middle of the night. She reportedly grabbed the family's shotgun and went to the back porch.

Shortly after she opened the door, she was shot at least twice... once in the face and once in the chest. After the shooting, according to Sheriff Don Read, Krepps' 8 year-old son called his father at his workplace and told him that "mommy is hurt" and that he needed to come home.

The husband then drove home, found his injured wife, and transported her to William Newton Memorial Hospital in Winfield.

Krepps was eventually transferred to a Wichita hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds. She was released from care sometime Thursday.

The boy accused of shooting Krepps is now scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Cowley County Juvenile Court on August 21.

----

A juvenile suspect will be charged with attempted first degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated burglary following his arrest Wednesday night.

Thirty-four-year-old Angela Krepps was released today from a Wichita hospital after she was shot in the face and chest around 4:00 a.m. Wednesday. Investigators said she was shot at her home along 253rd Rd, south of Highway 160. Sheriff's officers said evidence found at the scene led them to a 15 year old suspect who lives not far away from the Krepps in rural Cowley County.

Shortly before the shooting, the suspect's guardians reported that he had taken the car without their permission.

Investigators said evidence found at the suspect's home may be connected to two other burglaries in the area.

Sheriff Don Read said Krepps' husband received a phone call while he was at work just after 4:00 Wednesday morning. The couple's 8-year-old son told his dad that "mommy had been hurt" and that he needed to come home.

Krepps reportedly heard an unusual noise outside of her house in the middle of the night. She headed outside to investigate and was found shot in the face and chest not far from her back door.

Sheriff Reed said once the man received the phone call from his son, he immediately went home and found his wife seriously injured. He then picked her up and transported her in their personal vehicle to William Newton Memorial Hospital in Winfield.

Krepps is a volunteer firefighter for the Cambridge Fire Department. The suspect is being held in a juvenile facility in Reno County and will have a detention hearing in Cowley County Court on Friday at 1:30 p.m.