DEPUTY’S SHOOTING RULED JUSTIFIED
COUNTY» A deputy ARAPAHOE who fatally shot an armed teenager — who was fleeing a crashed, carjacked vehicle on foot — justifiably used deadly force to protect the public and other officers, according to a review of the officer-involved shooting.
James Daniel Hill, 17, was shot in the back by Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Knudsen about 5:15 a.m. May 31 in Centennial, according to the district attorney’s office review.
Hill and two other males carjacked a 2006 black Nissan Altima about 4:50 a.m. at the Courtney Downs Apartments, 15859 Jamison Drive, the document said.
Body camera images, physical evidence and testimony of witnesses were part of the investigative process.
Karen Pearson, chief deputy district attorney, said in the review: ”Based on the evidence and statements obtained during the investigation I find that Deputy Robert Knudsen reasonably believed that his life was in imminent danger, that James Hill presented an imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death to other police officers and to members of the public.”
Teen sentenced to youth corrections for murder of Denver chef.
An Englewood teenager was sentenced Thursday to seven years in the Department of Corrections’ youth offender system for the shooting death of a Denver chef.
Louis Lara-Macias, 17, was sentenced by Arapahoe District Judge Andrew Baum as part of a plea agreement, according to a district attorney’s news release. The sentence includes 21 years in prison, suspended, upon completion of the seven-year youth offender term. If Lara-Macias completes his youth term without further trouble, he will avoid prison as an adult.
On Oct. 19, Lara-Macias pleaded guilty to seconddegree murder for the death of 33-year-old Nicholas Lewis, a chef at the Blackbird Public House. Lewis was shot Oct. 1, 2016.
A co-defendant in the case, Raheem Vaughn Benson, who was also 16 at the time of the shooting, is being charged as an adult with first-degree murder. Benson has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled for March.
Lewis was walking home from a convenience store when he was randomly targeted, prosecutors said.
Deputy shoots, kills domestic violence suspect.
» A sheriff’s ADAMS COUNTY deputy was being treated for facial and neck injuries at a hospital after he fought and fatally shot a domestic violence suspect early Thursday morning.
The name of the deputy and the deceased suspect who fought him have not been released.
The deputy had responded at 3:34 a.m. to a call to check the well-being of a person on the 8700 block of Galen Court, according to a news release by Sgt. Jim Morgen.
While he was investigating the first case, the deputy heard a disturbance at a neighboring apartment. The suspect fled the apartment.
The deputy tried to arrest the suspect and a fight broke out, Morgen said.
During the fight, the deputy fired his gun.
The suspect and the deputy were transported to hospitals. The suspect was later pronounced dead, Morgen said.
The Adams County Critical Incident Team is conducting an investigation.
Councilman drops bid to unseat Tipton.
GRAND
A city councilman is halting his bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, saying undisclosed “family health issues” will require his attention.
Kennedy was one of three Democrats running to replace Tipton in next year’s election.
Former state Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush, a Steamboat Springs Democrat, has been in the race since July, and Karl Hanlon, a Glenwood Springs Democrat who is the town’s chief legal counsel, jumped in at the end of last month.
Tipton’s 3rd Congressional District spans the entirety of the Western Slope and San Luis Valley and covers Pueblo County.
The district is mainly Republican, and the GOP has a significant advantage in voter registration.