Prosecutors said Manuel Penalosa-Ramirez should remain in jail on $50,000 bond because he’s a gang member. His lawyer said he was not a gang member, but was an honor student at Derby High School.
Steven Wagle presented letters from school and family showing that Penalosa-Ramirez is a model honors student, trying to get his bond reduced to $5,000 Friday. Assistant Sedgwick County District Attorney Robert Short, however, argued that no matter how good his grades, Penalosa-Ramirez also is a gang member accused of firing an SKS semiautomatic rifle at a house in Wichita.
After hearing the arguments, Judge Clark Owens ruled that “honor student or not,” anyone accused of firing an SKS at a house deserves to have a $50,000 bond.