Four arrested in 2019 murders

Clair McFarland Riverton Ranger Via Wyoming News Exchange
Posted 12/14/21

RIVERTON — Four Fremont County residents are being charged in connection with the 2019 double-killing of Jocelyn Watt and Rudy Perez.

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Four arrested in 2019 murders

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RIVERTON — Four Fremont County residents are being charged in connection with the 2019 double-killing of Jocelyn Watt and Rudy Perez. 

The two were killed in a shared bedroom in Watt’s home on the 1100 block of East Main Street in Riverton on Jan. 4, 2019. 

Court statements given Friday at initial hearings for three of the four suspects indicate that the victims were shot during the course of a burglary. 

Bryce Mallikee Teran, 24, of Arapahoe, and Patrick James SunRhodes, 17, both faced felony murder charges in Riverton Circuit Court on Friday afternoon. 

Korbin Headley also is being charged, but with the lesser charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, punishable by between five and 25 years. 

A third alleged murderer is in custody but was not yet available to appear in court Friday. This individual remains unnamed by authorities but has been identified unofficially as the shooter in the case. 

The charge of felony murder carries a penalty of life in prison, life without parole, or the death penalty. 

However, SunRhodes is not eligible either for the death penalty or life without parole, because he was a minor at the time of the incident alleged. 

SunRhodes still is a minor but is being charged as an adult. He would have been 14 when the deaths occurred. 

He was escorted into the courtroom in person, in grey sweats and handcuffs. 

He appeared to be a clean-shaven youth with short-buzzed dark hair and black glasses, standing roughly 6 feet tall. 

Teran appeared by virtual link from the Fremont County Detention Center. His image was not clear, but he appeared to have shoulder-length black hair. 

Riverton Circuit Court Judge Wesley Roberts read both suspects their rights and the charges against them. Charging documents allege SunRhodes andTeran killed Jocelyn Watt and Rudy Perez while trying to perform a burglary. 

The unnamed defendant also may be charged with murder. 

Both SunRhodes and Teran are being held on a $1 million cash-only bond. 

Roberts established that both have strong ties to the community, including immediate and extended family. 

Both said they’ve lived in Fremont County for their entire lives. 

SunRhodes said he has been working “at the boys’ school” and has been on probation for a juvenile criminal matter. 

Teran said he’s been unemployed and is not on probation. 

In arguing for the high bond, Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun said that the case involved “forceful entry into a home.” 

“Shortly after entry into the home, both occupants of the home –– Jocelyn and Rudy –– were murdered in their bedroom.” 

LeBrun said SunRhodes “was there, saw who did it.” 

He said Teran was the one who had driven the group to the scene. 

“He did admit to being in the vehicle when the firearm was brought,” said LeBrun. “It’s a very, very dangerous person that would take part in this homicide –– both of these homicides.”

Roberts later added that “alcohol was a major factor in this situation.” 

Headley is being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond. 

In Wyoming, first-degree murder is chargeable if an act of murder is both malicious and premeditated. 

However, there is another provision under the statute known as “felony murder,” which grants that a defendant accused of killing a human being during the enactment of a felony –– such as burglary –– can face the same penalty if convicted. 

“These charges are the result of countless hours of investigative work by members of the Riverton Police Department, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Wyoming Division ofCriminal Investigation, and the FBI,” wrote LeBrun in a statement Saturday afternoon.