Denmark teen bound over for trial Kent Kuss appeared Monday morning in Kewaunee County Circuit Kent Kuss has a preliminary hearing on his first-degree murder charge By Kevin Boneske News-Chronicle A teenager at Denmark High School has been been bound over for trial on a charge of first-degree intentional homicide. Kent Kuss, 17, appeared Monday morning in Kewaunee County Circuit Court for his preliminary hearing. Kuss is accused of fatally shooting Jason Gretzon, 22, of Denmark early in the morning of May 19 in the town of Franklin. If convicted, Kuss faces a sentence of life in prison. Kewaunee County Assistant District Attorney Elma Anderson called five witnesses to testify. However, two other Denmark High School students allegedly with Kuss at the time of the shooting - Joshua Springtube, 15, and Francisco Saldana, 16 - did not testify after exercising their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Their alleged involvement is presently being handled in juvenile court. Two Kewaunee County sheriff's deputies who responded to the shooting near the intersection of County V and Langes Corners Road testified about Springtube and Saldana allegedly first stating that Gretzon had shot himself with a bullet ricocheting off a stop sign he was shooting at with his own handgun. However, the deputies said the teens later changed their story by stating Kuss shot Gretzon in the neck. Deputy John McCambridge testified that it didn't seem possible that a bullet could have ricocheted off the sign and hit Gretzon in the neck by the way Saldana described the incident. He said Saldana then stated when interviewed further that Kuss had taken the gun away from Gretzon, who had been shooting at a stop sign, and pointed it toward toward Gretzon's neck before shooting him. McCambridge said Saldana told him Kuss and Gretzon had gotten into an argument related to a "misunderstanding about going out and shooting at some cows. Deputy Steven Gilray testified that Springtube told him the teens met Gretzon at a party across from Denmark High School when they decided to "go out and shoot some stop signs." When Gilray arrived at the shooting scene, he said he overhead Kuss state to Springtube something about "that's what you tell the cops." When Springtube was being interviewed, Gilray testified, Springtube allegedly admitted he had been told by Kuss to "tell the cops it was a ricochet." Dr. Mark Witeck, who performed the autopsy on Gretzon's body, attributed the cause of death a single gunshot wound to the neck which damaged the spinal cord and right jugular vein. He said the bullet entered the front of the right side of the neck and lodged in the back of the neck. Kuss remains in custody on cash or surety bond of $500,000. Judge Dennis J. Mleziva denied a request by Kuss' attorney, Jevon Jaconi, to lower the bail amount to between $150,000 to $200,000. Jaconi said Kuss' father then could come up with the surety. But Anderson opposed any reduction in bond. She said Kuss shot Gretzon "essentially in cold blood" and could feel "free to flee anytime" if released. Arraignment is set for June 18.