At about 2:45 a.m. on November 26, as we've reported, members of the Aurora Police Department were dispatched to a residence on the 1400 block of North Lima Street. There, the cops found three victims. Two of them were inside the home -- a man who died of his wounds despite the best efforts of emergency personnel and a woman suffering from a comparatively less serious injury. In addition, a second man was found in an alley to the west of the house in question. He survived a trip to a nearby hospital, but ultimately succumbed to his wounds.
What happened? According to the APD, investigators think the resident of the home and the female guest were in the front room of the home when two suspects arrived. After a struggle, one of the suspects was shot and died. The male resident then left the home but was shot by the second suspect, who then returned to the house, grabbed the keys to the man's black Cadillac and split. Meanwhile, the male resident made it as far as the alley before collapsing.
The Arapahoe County coroner's office identified the victims as Martel Cornelius Thomas, a 65 year old known to his friends as Charles, and Greg McCoy, 46.The online obituary for McCoy features some especially heartfelt tributes. Here's one example:
My love my man my soulmate I am going to be totally lost without you my heart has a hole that will never be mended, I will miss your Humor, Your Love , your Thoughts,Your Walk, Your Wisdom, Your holding me watching a movie or Our favorite TV shows, your Caring Heart, The picking your face to remove the ingrown hairs while you fell asleep, Your love for music, Your Joy, Your Dreams, Your Kisses and Your calling my name just to say I love you. Your love for all the children in your life. You touched so many people in so many different ways. Baby this hurts like hell but I know your resting in Gods arms, I MISS YOU AND WILL LOVE YOU ALWAYS UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN. Rest in Paradise.Our sincere condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of Thomas and McCoy.
Later on the day of the shooting, APD officers, assisted by peers at the Denver Police Department, busted a man later ID'd as Mackey near East 33rd Avenue and Jasmine Street, after spotting the Caddy on the 2500 block of North Dallas Street.
Mackey should be mighty familiar with handcuffs and mug shots. The Denver Post describes him as a habitual offender with arrests aplenty dating as far back as 1990 -- but his most notorious previous crime involved a 2000 car jacking that appeared to have led to the death by heart attack of Frank Scalise, 69.
Although Mackey was initially charged with murder in the matter, that count was dismissed, leaving a robbery conviction that kept him in jail until February. But within months of his release, he was already back in trouble: On May 31, the Post reports, he was hit with two attempted murder counts, as well as a previous-offender gun-possession offense.
Last month, Mackey pleaded not guilty to these charges -- and he was free on a $100,000 bond until last week. Now, however, he's being held without bail while two families mourn.
Look below to see a larger version of a Mackey booking photo, followed by our earlier item.
Continue for our previous coverage of the shooting on North Lima Street in Aurora, including a photo and an interactive graphic. Original post, 8:50 a.m. November 26: An Aurora neighborhood exploded in gunfire during the early hours of this morning, with three people getting hit before the muzzles stopped flashing.One man was killed in the incident, while another is in what an Aurora Police Department rep described a short time ago as "life-threatening condition" in an area hospital. Only a woman who was also shot appears to be assured of survival.
Right now, details are few. Here's what we know so far.
At about 2:45 a.m., according to APD spokeswoman Sergeant Cassidee Carlson, officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of North Lima Street, an area captured in the interactive graphic below. If you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."
View Larger Map
Upon their arrival, the cops found three victims, two of them inside a home -- a man who died of his wounds despite the best efforts of emergency personnel and a woman suffering from a comparatively less serious injury.
In addition, a second man was found in an alley to the west of the house in question. He remains hospitalized, his ultimate fate undetermined at this writing.
Here's a look at the crime scene via an image tweeted by 9News reporter TaRhonda Thomas:
Sunrise gives @AuroraPD a better look at fatal shooting scene. Talking to witnesses. 3 shot; 1 dead. #9newsmornings pic.twitter.com/IS7ElDEHpS
— TaRhonda Thomas (@TaRhondaThomas) November 26, 2013
As you can see, investigators remain at the home, but at this early stage, Carlson can't yet share what they've learned. Likewise, she declines to describe the victims beyond noting that all of them are adults, adding, "We're still trying to determine how everybody was involved with one another."
There's also the possibility of a fourth person who left the scene before officers got to the house, but Cassidee doesn't identify this individual as a suspect.
Anyone with additional info is encouraged to phone Detective Mike Prince at 303-739-6127 or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our Mile High Murder archive: "Merrick McKoy allegedly killed baby after posting their photo on Facebook (23)."