Three men indicted in a June 20 double homicide witness killing appeared in court together for the first time this morning.
Chief Judge John Leopold read the 23 counts against Robert Keith Ray, 20; Sir Mario Owens, 22; and Parish Ramone Carter, 24; in the shooting deaths of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe.
A grand jury on Wednesday indicted the three men on the charges, which include first-degree murder. If convicted, the men could face the death penalty. But whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty won’t be decided for some time.
Today Ray, Carter and Owens sat separately and didn’t communicate with one another. At times during the hearing, there were as many as nine Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputies in the courtroom. The men wore handcuffs and jail or prison jumpsuits. The only time they spoke was when Leopold asked them if they understood the charges against them. Each answered separately, “yes, sir.”
Also appearing was Markeeta Ray, the sister of Robert Ray, on charges of lying to the grand jury. She turned herself in and was released after posting $10,000 bail.
Families of the victims of both the June 20 shooting and the July 4, 2004 homicide that killed Gregory Vann were present. Prosecutors believe Vann’s death prompted the killings of Marshall-Fields and Wolfe. Marshall-Fields was a witness to Vann’s shooting and told police that he saw Ray drive away from the shooting at Lowry Park. The indictment said after Vann’s death, Ray began plotting how to silence Marshall-Fields. Authorities say he first offered Marshall-Fields $10,000 to be quiet and then put out a hit on him. Prosecutors believe Owens and Carter carried out the act under Ray’s orders.
Marshall-Fields and Wolfe were recent graduates of Colorado State University and had also just gotten engaged. They were driving down a darkened Aurora street when they were gunned down.
The indictment also says that the three have continued to try to silence witnesses from talking about the June 20 shooting, calling in threats while they were behind bars.
Christine Wolfe, Vivian’s mother, said it was good to see the three men charged with her daughter’s death in court.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” she said. “I’ve wanted to see them all three together in the same room.”
