Despite his attorney’s request that his client be released from a detention center and allowed to go to a sober living facility, 17-year-old Cesar Bolanos — one of five people charged with shooting and killing Chaviz Nguyen in 2023 — will remain incarcerated with no bond.
“I am aware of the seriousness of the allegations of this case, but they are just that — allegations,” defense attorney Stuart Huffman said to Greene County Circuit Judge Kaiti Greenwade at the bond hearing in Springfield Friday, June 14. “Mr. Bolanos is innocent until proven guilty.”
Greene County Assistant Prosecutor Conor Browne disagreed, telling the judge the state’s case against Bolanos is “extremely strong.” Browne pointed out that Bolanos is 17 and he’s been in custody for the past six months. If the teen is allowed to post bond, the prosecutor argued, it probably wouldn’t be with his own money.
Bolanos is charged under Missouri law with the class A felony of first-degree murder, four counts of armed criminal action, the class B felony of first-degree assault and two counts of the class A felony of unlawful use of a weapon causing death or injury.
3 suspects in custody, police seek 2 others
Browne told Judge Greenwade five people have been implicated in the fatal shooting, but only three of them have been arrested as of June 14.
Prior to Friday’s hearing, neither the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office nor Springfield Police Department had publicly announced that two suspects remain at large.
The Hauxeda attended Bolanos’ preliminary hearing in May. Throughout that hearing, other suspects were mentioned, but it was not clear if those were nicknames or first names or if police believe there was one other person involved or two.
According to Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson, charges have also been filed against Quartez Washington and Arshaun Bradley. Washington and Bradley have not yet been arrested, but warrants were issued for their arrest April 16, 2024.
Nguyen, 26, was a passenger in a car driven by his girlfriend on Grant Avenue near College Street on the night of Nov. 14, 2023. Police say a car full of male teenagers pulled up beside Nguyen and his girlfriend, and that the occupants fired guns at the couple and then fled.
Nguyen died at the scene of the shooting.
Nguyen’s girlfriend, Haley Frillman, was shot multiple times but survived. She was pregnant at the time of the shooting, and her injuries caused her to have a “high risk” pregnancy. She was shot in the leg and finger. The injuries to her leg caused blood clots, Frillman said. She had to take blood thinners and use a wheelchair.
Timothy Hester, 17, and Elysha Bedell, 19, are also charged with killing Nguyen.
All three teens are held without bond. Bedell is in the Greene County Jail. Although Bolanos and Hester are both being charged with crimes in adult court, they are being held in the Greene County Juvenile Detention Center in Springfield as their cases progress.
At Bolanos' hearing June 14, Browne described to the judge what investigators believe happened the night Nguyen was killed. The prosecutor said more than 30 rounds of ammunition were fired into the passenger side of Frillman’s vehicle, where Nguyen was sitting.
Victim’s girlfriend says it was case of mistaken identity
Following Friday’s hearing, Frillman spoke briefly with the Daily Citizen. She said the Springfield police officer who wrote the original probable cause statement included something from a witness who was repeating incorrect information. That incorrect information has been repeated in media reports, Frillman said.
The officer wrote that a witness said there was an ongoing dispute between Bedell and one of Nguyen’s friends. Frillman said that is incorrect — there was no connection between Nguyen and Bedell or any of Nguyen’s friends and Bedell.
The targeting of Chaviz Nguyen was a case of mistaken identity, Frillman said. It’s her understanding that her car looks like a car belonging to someone Bedell doesn’t like.
Frillman said news stories have also made it sound like she and Nguyen realized they were being chased before the gunfire began.
That’s not true, she said. Frillman said she and Nguyen noticed the car full of males driving beside them and looking at them. But Frillman said she had no idea the car was chasing her vehicle until the shooting began.
“I wish I’d known,” she said, adding that maybe she could have gotten away.
