CASPER — A 21-year-old Cheyenne man accused of shooting a 16-year-old boy after repeatedly playing a game in which they pointed loaded handguns at each other pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
Sebastian Belden was arraigned in an orange jail jumpsuit and shackles before Natrona County District Court Judge Kerri Johnson, accompanied by court-appointed attorney Dylan Rosalez.
She read him the two aggravated assault and battery charges he faces and explained the potential 10-year sentence for each.
Belden informed the judge that he understood the charges, and then stated, “Not guilty, your honor.”
The teen who was shot on May 11 sat in court with his family, directly behind the prosecutor’s table.
Rosalez then requested that the judge consider lowering Belden’s $50,000 cash or surety bond “to the lowest the court sees fit.”
He stated that Belden had a residence prior to his arrest and had no significant criminal record.
Patrick LeBrun, Assistant District Attorney for Natrona County, argued that the bond was appropriately set.
He stated that the case involved a 21-year-old Wyoming National Guard member “playing this game” with a 16-year-old, pointing guns at each other.
“Several times during the day he is pointing his gun as a joke,” LeBrun informed me. “In the evening, he shoots him in the head.”
‘Fluke’
According to LeBrun, Belden moved to Cheyenne after the shooting and before his arrest.
He also stated that the defendant purchased the handgun for the 16-year-old against the “will” of the teen’s guardians.
Belden’s actions posed a threat to the community, LeBrun claimed, and the judge agreed.
“I will continue the bond,” she said.
According to court records, Belden is facing charges stemming from the Mother’s Day evening gunplay at his former address on the 100 block of South Washington in Casper.
Belden initially told a Natrona County Sheriff’s Office investigator that the shooting was a “one-in-a-million-fluke kind of thing because my gun’s safety was turned on.”
“I didn’t even know I had a live round in the chamber,” Belden told the investigator.
Witnesses, including Belden’s fiancée, told police that both Belden and the teen had weapons on the afternoon of May 11, and that Belden frequently pulled his Taurus G3 9 mm from his waistband and pointed it at the teen’s face.
“During most of those incidents, (his fiancée) told Belden to put the firearm away,” the affidavit states.
Shot in the head
Belden eventually admitted in a May 21 follow-up interview with authorities that he took the weapon from his waistband, pointed it at the teen, and manipulated the safety lever to “make sure nothing bad happened.”
He told an investigator that the only way it could have gone off was if “his finger was on the trigger,” according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, the teen was discovered with a gunshot wound to the left side of his forehead above the left eye, as well as an exit wound above and behind his left ear.
The teen was first treated at Banner Wyoming Medical Center before being flown to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver.
Deputies discovered a loaded SCCY handgun on the ground near the victim, with a live round in the chamber, as well as a baseball-style hat with a bullet hole.
Investigators were told during interviews with Belden’s fiancée and forensic interviews with 12- and 14-year-old minor girls who witnessed the shooting that Belden asked them to lie to law enforcement and claim he tripped over something, which caused his weapon to fire.
No Animosity
All three females told investigators there was no animosity between the two, and Belden’s fiancée told deputies he purchased the SCCY handgun for the 16-year-old.
On March 28 and April 16, 2025, investigators discovered the purchase forms for both weapons.
According to the affidavit, a video taken at the store where Belden purchased the SCCY handgun showed him with his fiancée and the teen.
Belden also wrote an apology letter to the teen’s family, and a representative of his delivered it to the Casper Police Department, requesting that it be given to the family.
The letter was given to the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office, according to the affidavit.
“The note expressed regret and remorse on behalf of Belden for hurting (the teen),” the affidavit states. “The note also indicated that the shooting was a ‘terrible accident’ and asked for the (teen’s) family’s forgiveness.”
Johnson stated that the case would be scheduled for trial.
