A judge has denied a request to lower bond for a man charged with a homicide committed at a southeast Topeka event venue on a night he was working as a security guard there. Shawnee County District Judge Jessica Heinen heard arguments from the defense and the prosecution before deciding May 2 to not lower bond for Robert Reyes, court records show. Reyes, 45, was being held May 9 on a $1 million bond in the Shawnee County Jail on charges that included intentional second-degree murder, jail records showed. The charges were linked to the death early March 8 of Yancy Whitehead, 22, of Topeka, at The Villa Event Venue, 2941 S.E. Fremont. Reyes is scheduled to appear at a June 5 preliminary hearing to determine if probable cause exists to try him in the case.
Whitehead was among three people shot early March 8
Topeka police said they were called about 3 a.m. March 8 to the scene, where Whitehead
was fatally shot and two other victims were wounded but survived. Court records identified the wounded as a man named Jamari Pleasant and a juvenile, born in 2008, whose name and gender weren't made public. The homicide was gang-related and was committed by someone who was a stranger to Whitehead, said a Topeka police offense report.
Prosecutor said Reyes was working as a security guard
Reyes asked April 24 that Heinen lower his bond by an unspecified amount. Lauren Amrein, a deputy Shawnee County district attorney, asked April 30 that Reyes's request be denied.
Reyes was drinking alcohol and working as a security guard the night he allegedly shot Whitehead to death nearly point-blank at The Villa Event Center, where he was employed, she said in a document submitted to the court.
Reyes allegedly violated bond conditions linked to separate case
Reyes is also being held in the jail on a $150,000 bond on a court order linked to a 2023 case. Reyes is accused in that case of threatening a romantic partner and striking her in the presence of her child, Amrein wrote. He faces charges of a misdemeanor count of criminal restraint and one felony count each of aggravated domestic battery, making a criminal threat and aggravated intimidation of a victim or witness, jail records said. Reyes's jury trial in that case is set to begin Aug. 25. Reyes was released on bond in the 2023 case that year while being placed under restrictions that included requiring him to remain law-abiding, not possess weapons and not possess or consume illegal drugs or alcohol, Amrein said. Reyes violated those restrictions the night Whitehead was killed, she said.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at [email protected] or 785-213-5934.
