Man charged with second-degree murder in teen’s shooting death

Prosecutors on Wednesday formally charged a Wichita man with second-degree murder in the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy last week.

Fabian Juan Griffin, 43, was arrested after Casey James Lawrukiewicz was shot once in the head just before midnight Friday at an address in the 1700 block of South Yale. Lawrukiewicz, a student at East High School, died later at a Wichita hospital.

Authorities have said Griffin and the teen knew one another and that Griffin is thought to have handled a gun unsafely, which led to the shooting. Both were at the home of Griffin’s 25-year-old neighbor when Lawrukiewicz was shot.

During his first appearance Wednesday afternoon, Griffin said “yes, sir” when Sedgwick County District Court Judge Jeffrey Goering asked him whether he understood the charge, which alleges the shooting was unintentional but the result of recklessness. Griffin also told the judge he planned to hire a lawyer to represent him rather than using a court-appointed one.

There was no defense attorney listed for him in court records on Wednesday afternoon.

Griffin remains in jail in lieu of $250,000 bond. He is due in court for his next hearing on March 22.

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Man charged with second-degree murder in teen’s shooting death."