NO CHARGES AGAINST DEPUTY IN FATAL SHOOTING OF ARMED MAN

COUNTY» A sheriff’s deputy ADAMS who fatally shot an armed man, who had fired multiple shots at the deputy while fleeing an arrest, was justified in his actions and will face no criminal charges in the shooting.

Deputy Kyle Bacon was legally justified in using his firearm on Nov. 29 when he shot Keith Bruce, 40, a suspect who was fleeing Bacon and who had fired gunshots at the deputy, according to an investigative review by Adams County District Attorney Dave Young.

Young, in a letter to Sheriff Rick Reigenborn signed Thursday, said “it would be difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury that this peace officer was not legally justified in resorting to the use of force.”

Bacon was on patrol Nov. 29 when he drove to the Tomahawk truck stop in Watkins. Bacon ran a license plate check on a pickup, and the query came back as a stolen vehicle.

Dressed in uniform, Bacon approached the truck. Bruce, who apparently had been sleeping in the vehicle, started the engine, threw it into reverse and almost hit Bacon as the truck fishtailed and Bruce fled the area.

Bacon pursued the truck northeast on East Colfax Avenue, and Bruce fired shots, including a round that hit a front light on Bacon’s marked patrol SUV. As the pursuit neared Peterson Road, a rural stretch of eastern Adams County, Bruce jumped from the truck, firing a shot at Bacon as the truck rolled into a ditch, according to the review.

Bruce ran across an open field toward an isolated, single-family home. About 70 yards out, Bruce stopped, turned, and fired a shot at Bacon.

Bacon, according to the review, now feared Bruce would continue to use any means possible to escape, including bringing harm to the family in the home he was running toward. Bacon retrieved a rifle from the SUV and fired five shots at Bruce, who was an estimated 400 feet away.

Bruce was hit three times, according to autopsy findings of Dr. Stephen Cina, a forensic pathologist. The autopsy determined that Bruce “had been using methamphetamine prior to his death.”

Rental dispute leads to shooting. COUNTY» A man is being

WELD investigated on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder for allegedly shooting at a tenant over a failure to pay rent.

Brian Fletcher, 51, of Keenesburg, was held Thursday at the Weld County jail on suspicion of crimes including second-degree assault, menacing and possession of a weapon by a previous offender, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

Deputies responded about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday to a reported shooting in the 1900 block of Weld County Road 55, about 5 miles south of Keenesburg.

Whitney Moore, 67, called 911 to report the shooting. She told deputies that her husband, Fletcher, had a dispute with Richard Warsaw, 64, who lives in a trailer on their property but had stopped paying rent, according to a news release.

Fletcher was held Thursday on $150,000 bail.

Medical examiner identifies 80-year-old Denver man who died after attack near Capitol. An 80-year-old man killed during a physical altercation Saturday in Denver has been identified as George Black, according to the Denver medical examiner.

Stephanie Martinez, 36, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Black’s death after witnesses said she attacked the man near the state Capitol.

One witness said she punched Black several times, causing him to fall and hit his head, and continued to attack him until the witness stepped in to stop the assault. Black was taken to a hospital and died at 2:20 p.m.

A motive for the attack was not clear. The medical examiner’s office will determine Black’s official cause of death.