Judge: Alleged Shooter Not Allowed Within 100 Feet of Enumclaw Victim's Grave

A King County Superior Court judge Thursday banned alleged shooter James Radke from going within 100 feet of victim Kelsey Carter's grave, drawing applause from about a dozen people in the courtroom.

Judge Mary Roberts made the ruling at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent after hearing arguments from both sides.

Radke pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter. A case setting hearing is scheduled for Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. in the same courtroom.

The prosecution claimed that Radke had left items and disrupted the gravesite of the 16-year-old girl. So it asked that he not be allowed to go to the grave or be allowed to come in contact with the family.

Roberts ruled that Radke could not go to the gravesite, not because of what he allegedly may have done there, but just to make sure he did not come in contact with members of Kelsey's family. A guard had to quiet the crowd once it started clapping.

After the hearing outside the courthouse, Radtke, who is out on $100,000 bail, fidgeted with a cigarette. Dressed in a dark-blue suit, he and his lawyers declined comment. 

Radtke was charged July 21 with first-degree manslaughter in the Dec. 11, 2010, death of Kelsey. Radtke, 25, of Kent, reportedly accidentally shot Kelsey while she was sitting on his lap. Charging papers say he had been drinking.

Radtke reportedly said he met Kelsey months before her death when she began babysitting his two young children. Charging papers go on to say that they were having a sexual relationship and living in his parents' house. 

Kelsey had been reported as a runaway to Enumclaw police almost two months earlier, on Oct. 19, 2010.