The final charges pending in the aftermath of a gunfi ght more than a year ago in the 3100 block of Grand have been dismissed. The main reason is the lack of cooperating witnesses.
Stedarrish Stefon Herman, 1204 S. 24th St., and his sister, Bernia Lashay Herman, 26, 1220 N. 21st, were charged in Labette County District Court. The initial complaint alleged attempted first-degree murder and other counts. That case was eventually dismissed after witnesses and alleged victims failed to show up to testify. The case was refiled with reduced charges, three counts of aggravated assault, one count of aggravated endangering a child and one count of criminal discharge of a firearm. Bernia Herman was charged with aiding and abetting.
When the alleged victims in the case, Cedric Webb Jr., Jeremy Tyson Jr. and Johntae Fields, either failed to show up or had memory lapses on the witness stand, the charges were reduced to criminal discharge of a firearm and aggravated child endangerment. The case was dismissed against Bernia Herman after that hearing.
Stedarrish Herman was to be tried in November on the two remaining charges.
The charges resulted from the shootout around 1 p.m. May 31, 2023, in front of 3129 Grand. Witnesses told police that Stedarrish fired first and that several people returned gunfire. Houses, vehicles and a commercial building were damaged by bullets, and Stedarrish was wounded by the gunfire. No other injuries were reported, police said at the time.
Bernia Herman drove a black Mercedes to 3129 Grand and her brother, Stedarrish, was a passenger. Bernia walked up to the residence and started arguing with a woman in the home. Others in the home stepped in to calm the situation but Bernia took a swing at the woman she had been arguing with, according to previous testimony.
At this point, R’rian McGlory, who lived in the house at the time, heard a boom that she testified sounded like it came from a Draco pistol from her backyard. She didn’t know who fired that round but at that point she and others took refuge in the house and Stedarrish, who
See CHARGES, Page 12.
had been holding onto a gun in the front pouch of his hoodie, and three men standing outside the house, Webb Jr., Tyson Jr. and Fields, exchanged gunfire.
McGlory testified that she laid on top of her child in the living room.
Once the shooting stopped, McGlory testifi ed that she looked outside and saw Tyson Jr. and Fields in the street. Stedarrish had driven the Mercedes westbound toward 32nd Street.
Parsons police picked up 32 shell casings in the 3100 block of Grand. A police lieutenant testified about collecting 13 .45 caliber shell casings and 19 .40 caliber shell casings from the street on Grand and on and around the driveway at 3129 Grand. Dwayne’s Photo Service, just west of the residence where the gunfight began, had bullet holes in it and police recovered two slugs from the building.
Tyler and Fields either didn’t show up to testify or weren’t called. Webb Jr. took the witness stand briefly but claimed not to know anything about the shooting, or the Hermans. He’s also been charged in and pleaded to reduced charges in a gunfire exchange on Chess.
Deputy County Attorney Alan Brereton dismissed Stedarrish Herman’s case recently, citing witness issues that would make it difficult to prove the case to a Labette County jury. He said besides his duties to prosecute crimes, he has another duty to not prosecute cases when there is no reasonable likelihood of a conviction.
The criminal damage cases against Herman were also dismissed or would be for similar witness issues, Brereton said. Herman was alleged to have damaged two vehicles in Parsons the morning of the shooting.
“The long story short is that, very unfortunately, there is just no way for me to prove the shooting case to a jury,” Brereton said in an email.
The case was dismissed without prejudice, which means he could refile it.
