All six teens in custody charged with murder in Olathe park shooting

OLATHE, Kan. — Prosecutors charged two more teenagers with first-degree murder in a deadly shooting at Black Bob Park in Olathe on Saturday.

Now, all six teenagers in custody face first-degree murder charges in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Marco Cardino of Smithville, Missouri.

The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office also filed another motion to request that a 14-year-old girl in custody in relation to the shooting be tried as an adult.

On Tuesday, prosecutors filed motions for three other 14-year-olds to be tried as adults. The two remaining teens are 13, and Kansas state law does not allow for them to be tried as adults.

Olathe police were called to Black Bob Park at about 4 a.m. Saturday morning and found Cardino inside a vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Cardino was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Johnson County DA’s Office said the incident stemmed from a drug deal that led to a robbery, which then led to the fatal shooting.

But the mother of one of those teens now charged said that’s not the full story.

She said Cardino was selling drugs to the minors, and the 19-year-old pulled out a gun first in an attempt to rob the 13- and 14-year-olds.

Now that mom said her family is in protective custody due to how many threats they’ve received.

FOX4 reached out to the DA’s office to confirm this account, but we haven’t heard back.

Meanwhile, a friend of Cardino’s family told FOX4 he was a good man with the wrong crowd, and now his mother is heartbroken.

“Her heart is just totally broken, and her main concern is that no other mother should ever have to feel what she’s feeling,” Shay Weber said.

The Olathe School District confirms that three of the 14-year-old students charged in the case attend Olathe schools. The other 14-year-old charge attends school in the Blue Valley School District, according to court documents.

On Wednesday, Olathe Mayor John Bacon released the following statement:

“The safety of residents and all visitors to Olathe will always be our top priority. I’m proud of the Olathe Police Department for their quick work on this case and their commitment each day to protecting our community.”