Judge doubts self- defense claim
A Denver district judge on Wednesday refused to reduce the $ 500,000 bail for the security guard who shot and killed a propolice demonstrator in Denver this month in large part because a Denver Post photographer captured frame by frame what happened during the killing.
Those moment- by- moment photographs greatly increase the likelihood that the security guard, Matthew Dolloff, will be convicted, and they increase the risk that Dolloff will refuse to appear in court if released on bail, District Judge John Madden IV wrote in a six- page order.
“The precision with which the moment of the charged homicide is captured is unprecedented in the Court’s experience,” Madden wrote.
Dolloff, 30, is charged with seconddegree murder in the killing of Lee Keltner, 49, who was participating in a “Patriot Rally” on Oct. 10 in Civic Center.
Dolloff was working as a contracted security guard for 9News at the time, although he was not licensed to provide security services in Denver.
Madden found that the Denver Post photographs do not support Dolloff’s claim that he acted in self- defense when he shot Keltner, who had slapped him in the face a moment before the shooting and who appeared to be spraying pepper spray at Dolloff as Dolloff shot him.
“The evidence of which the Court is presently aware appears to show that, at the time of the shooting, there was no danger from the victim that placed the Defendant or anyone else in imminent risk of death or great bodily injury, and that the victim was backing away from the Defendant holding a can of mace,” Madden wrote, although he emphasized that there will be significantly more evidence considered as the case goes forward.
Photographs taken by the Denver Post moments after the shooting show law enforcement officers removing a handgun from the left side of Keltner’s body. Denver police have said two guns were found at the scene.
Dolloff has no previous criminal history and does not present a safety threat to the community, Madden wrote. If convicted of second- degree murder, he faces a mandatory sentence of 16 to 48 years in prison followed by five years on parole.
The $ 500,000 bail is five times the typical bail set for class 2 felonies in Colorado, Madden noted, but said it is necessary because of the circumstances of the case.