Man shot dead is ID’d; police arrest friend
A man shot dead in Denver early Saturday morning has been identified, and his girlfriend is being held as a suspect in the shooting.
Jamal Thompson, 26, died of a gunshot wound and his manner of death is a homicide, according to the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.
Jenny Nguyen, 27, has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with Thompson’s death, according to police.
The shooting happened at 12:10 a.m. Saturday in the area of East 54th Avenue and Yampa Street, according to a Denver Police Department arrest affidavit.
The couple, who were in a relationship, were arguing near Nguyen’s home when shots were fired at Thompson from close range, according to the warrant.
Thompson was found by officers inside a white Ford Fusion, near the residence, after the vehicle had crashed and rolled. He was taken to Denver Health Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 2:32 a.m., the warrant said.
Investigators determined that the pair had been in a relationship, broken up but had recently gotten back together. They were involved in two previous domestic violence incidents, the affidavit said.
Shortly after the shooting, officers knocked on the front door to Nguyen’s home but no one answered. Nguyen was taken into custody Saturday after investigators served a search warrant on her home. She agreed to go to police headquarters to be interviewed.
While conducting a search in the home investigators found a disassembled Sig Sauer 9mm handgun hidden in a bathroom heating vent of the master bathroom, the warrant said. Five 9mm cartridges were found in the street next to the home.
A video surveillance system at the home, which has a camera facing the street, had recorded footage before and after the shooting, according to the warrant. Missing video from the time span of the shooting is “consistent with being deleted from the system’s home panel.”
During an interview with investigators, Nguyen lowered her head and closed her eyes when asked directly about whether she shot Thompson, according to the warrant. Nguyen declined to answer that direct question.