'Nolan shot Kain':13-year-old ordered to stand trial in homicide of Red Lion boy, 12
On the last day of Kain Heiland’s short life, April 1, he was hanging out with his friends, Nolan Grove and Miles Belleman.
They goofed around Red Lion, a typical Saturday, shuttling between Miles' and Nolan’s homes, about a block away from one another in Red Lion.
While they were hanging out, Miles recalled that Nolan was carrying his father’s pistol, later identified as a .380 Kel-Tec semi-automatic with a laser sight, a gun described by the manufacturer as “a little pocket-sized carry pistol (that) packs a punch.” He had watched as Nolan removed the pistol from the gun cabinet in his father’s First Avenue home, a cabinet emblazoned with an American flag and secured with a magnetic latch.
The pistol made a few appearances during the day. Once, while they were listening to music at Nolan’s house, Nolan pointed it at Kain and activated the laser sight. A screenshot of a Facetime call depicts Kain lying on his back, covering his face with his hands, as Nolan stood over him.
Later, Miles recalled, Nolan brandished the pistol when they confronted two girls who took Belleman’s scooter.
And even later, Nolan pulled the gun on Kain.
The boys were walking through Nolan’s neighbor’s backyard, returning to Nolan’s house from Miles' home on West Broadway. Nolan said something about Kain’s mom and Kain told him to shut up.
Nolan told Kain, “You know what will happen.”
“That’s when he shot him,” Miles testified at Nolan’s preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon. “Nolan shot Kain.”
He testified that Nolan shot Kain in the right side of his back at 8:22 p.m., the time recorded on a Facetime call from Miles’ phone to another friend. Kain was 12.
After the shooting, he said, he and Nolan went back to his house.
Previously: Red Lion boy, 13, charged with homicide in shooting death of Kain Heiland, 12
Kain's family speaks: Grandmother of Kain Heiland, 12, killed in Red Lion: 'He died protecting his mom'
Miles, a slight 13-year-old boy, wore a suit that seemed a size too big and sneakers to court. As he testified in Courtroom 7002 in the York County Judicial Center, he swiveled nervously in his chair, his voice soft and difficult to hear.
He was one of two witnesses to appear during the brief hearing. The other, State Police Trooper Travis Vankuren, took the stand after Miles and briefly outlined the investigation that led police to charge Nolan, 13, with third-degree murder and other charges. Third-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. (Nolan is charged as an adult; Pennsylvania law mandates juveniles accused of murder to be tried as adults.)
Vankuren testified that when Nolan arrived at the state police barracks in Loganville with his father, he had changed clothes and told the trooper who took his statement that he had washed his hands. His clothing was later seized by state police to be tested for gunshot residue.
At the conclusion of the hearing, District Magisterial Judge John Fishel ordered Nolan to stand trial. Nolan’s defense attorney, Farley Holt, did not present any witnesses or argue his case at the conclusion of the hearing.
Nolan is being held without bail in a juvenile facility.
On Tuesday, July 25, he was formally arraigned in York County Common Pleas Court on charges of third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at mike@ydr.com.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: 13-year-old to stand trial in homicide of 12-year-old Red Lion boy
