We've now obtained the probable cause statement in the case (see it below), and in it, Roberts claims he acted in self-defense against "that nigga," Hasan "Munch" Jones, 22. However, witnesses maintain Roberts kept putting bullets into Jones even after he'd hit the ground.
To put it mildly, this portrait contradicts ones of Roberts that have previously appeared in this space -- a point made by Jonathan Shikes in yesterday's post. An excerpt:"Terrance Roberts is one of Denver's great comeback stories," Westword's Joel Warner wrote back in January. "A one-time shot-caller in the Park Hill Bloods," Roberts, now 37, had turned his life around and founded the Prodigal Son Initiative, an anti-gang youth program in northeast Park Hill. When a 2008 gang-related arson attack destroyed the Holly Square Shopping Center, Roberts helped spearhead a rebirth that now includes a busy basketball court and the Boys & Girls Club.The mystery deepens thanks to information in the aforementioned police report. At 6:03 p.m. on Friday, the document states, police officers were dispatched to the location noted above (official address: 3333 Holly Street) on a report of a shooting. Upon their arrival, the cops were directed to Roberts, who is said to have been armed with a semi-automatic handgun -- a weapon he allegedly shouldn't have been allowed to possess owing to his criminal history. The PC statement points out that he was previously convicted of felony aggravated robbery, and also has a record of "weapons-related charges," including a possession-of-a-weapon-by-a-previous-offender beef dating back to February 2001.The club opened in August inside a building at 34th Avenue and Holly Street that also houses the Prodigal Son Initiative.
One of Denver's great comeback stories -- and one its biggest enigmas.
As the cops were taking the gun away from Roberts, a group of what are described as "suspected gang members" approached him. In response, Roberts is quoted as yelling, "I had to shoot that nigga. He pulled a knife on me.
"Fuck you all," he's said to have added. "You would have shot him, too. Fuck that nigga. I shot him for running up on me."
Continue for more about the arrest of Terrance Roberts, including another photo and the police report. Even more damning are assertions by two witnesses listed as confidential owing to the "violent nature of this crime" and the individuals' "vulnerability to retaliation."Both of them tell essentially the same story -- that Roberts shot the victim, then fired again while he was lying on the ground.
Jones was rushed to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. At last report, he was in critical condition.
At this point, Roberts remains in custody on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and possession of a weapon by a prior offender.
Here's a larger look at his mug shot, followed by the probable cause statement.
More from our Follow That Story archive: "Terrance Roberts: The former gang leader's comeback story takes a tragic twist."
