Since then, the Denver coroner's office has identified the man killed in the incident as Dwayne Kelly, 52. The cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds. However, no charges have been filed thus far in Kelly's death, which the man on the other side of the gun is apparently portraying as an act of self-defense. Here's the latest, from a Denver police spokesman.
As we reported, police responded to Yates Street, in the Sloan's Lake area, at around 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday following a report of shots fired. There, they found Kelly, who was declared dead at the scene. A suspect was immediately identified, only to be released "pending further review of the facts," with the Denver District Attorney's Office tasked with determining if charges will be filed.
Can the incident be characterized as "Make My Day" shooting? Is a homeowner claiming his actions were justified because his home had been invaded? After all, Kelly reportedly has a hefty rap sheet that includes burglary beefs.In response to that question, the Denver Police Department's Sonny Jackson reveals that "we're looking at all of that. A lot of things are being said -- but I don't want to put our detectives in a corner. We're going to take what we have, what's being said and investigate it to find out what the facts tell us.
"The details are up in the air as to what motivated this," Jackson acknowledges. "We know we have a homicide, but we don't know if we have a murder. We had a suspect in custody, but based on what he was telling us, we had to decide whether we should continue holding him or let him go until we know more. So we released him. But we're continuing to investigate, and we'll present our findings to the DA and ask, 'Is this enough to say there was a murder? Or isn't it?' And then they'll decide. That's the DA's job."
Continue for our previous coverage.
Original post, 8:50 a.m. March 19: Did a murder take place yesterday on the 1600 block of Yates Street, in the Sloan's Lake area? Was it a justifiable homicide? Or some combination thereof?
At this writing, even members of the Denver Police Department seem unclear about how to describe what happened. But we know one thing for certain: After a shooting, a man is dead.
Continue for photos and details of the information released to date.
Just shy of 11 a.m. yesterday, the Denver Police Department issued the following tweet:
#BREAKING: #DPD on scene of a shooting 1600 block Yates. Will get more info shortly.
— Denver Police Dept (@DenverPolice) March 18, 2014More information did indeed follow. The DPD noted that officers responded to the scene after receiving a report of a shooting at around 10:40 a.m. Upon their arrival, they found what is described as a "deceased adult male on the property."
Cops subsequently announced that they weren't looking for any suspects. But while such a statement usually means they're confident they know who did it and have that individual in custody, the situation quickly became more complicated, as witnessed by this pair of tweets sent out early yesterday evening:UPDATE (1/2): Shooting in 1600 block of Yates remains an active homicide investigation. #DPD
— Denver Police Dept (@DenverPolice) March 19, 2014UPDATE (2/2): Suspect has been released pending further review of the facts of case by #Denver DA. No additional info at this time. #DPD
— Denver Police Dept (@DenverPolice) March 19, 2014Since then, details have been scarce, leaving open questions about whether the shooting qualifies as murder or manslaughter -- or if the motives and actions are more ambiguous.
Look below to see an interactive graphic of the area near the crime scene. If you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."
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More from our Mile High Murder archive circa March 18: "Thomas Laperch arrest: Murdered musician William Burchett robbed, stabbed, burned (44)."
