NORTHGLENN, Colo. — The man shot in a confrontation with deputies earlier this month in Adams County was wanted for attempted murder in Denver and was linked to that case in part due to a GPS ankle monitoring device worn by a second suspect.
Derrick Aranda, Jr. was fatally shot during a confrontation with an Adams County deputy on Aug. 5 in the area of 301 Malley Dr. in Northglenn. A deputy was treated at the hospital for minor injuries as a result of the incident.
The sheriff's office would not say how many deputies were involved in the shooting. They said all of the deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave.
>The video above aired on Aug. 6 when the shooting happened.
Aranda was wanted on a warrant out of Denver related to an attempted homicide that occurred on Oct. 4 of last year, according to arrest affidavit from the Denver Police Department (DPD).
The shooting happened around 1:30 p.m. near West 30th Avenue and North Julian Street. One victim was found at that location and another was dropped off at Denver Health by a person in white Ford Fusion, the affidavit says. The Fusion matched the description of the suspect's vehicle.
The victim who was found at the scene reported that he was in that area when he was approached by a passenger from the sedan on foot. That person was wearing a ski mask and armed with a gun and demanded the victim's belongings.
At one point the victim said he fought the suspect for control of the gun and as he did a second person got out of the Ford Fusion. During the struggle the victim and one of the suspects was shot, the affidavit says.
The victim stayed at the scene and the injured suspect was dropped off at the hospital in the Ford Fusion by the other suspect, later identified as Aranda.
Using security video from Denver Health, DPD got vehicle information for the Fusion and discovered it was also involved in an aggravated robbery that occurred a few weeks earlier on Sept. 20. During that incident an armed man also exited the car wearing a ski mask and demanded the victim's belongings, the affidavit says.
DPD put out a bulletin about the vehicle to other law enforcement and just before 2 a.m. on Oct. 6 Wheat Ridge Police said they located the vehicle. It was impounded and processed for evidence.
The suspect who was injured and brought to the hospital was wearing a GPS ankle monitoring device and DPD requested data and found that he was in the area of both aggravated robberies when they occurred, the affidavit says.
That suspect was interviewed and initially provided statements "inconsistent" with the evidence, DPD said. He later changed his story and said that he and Aranda were both at West 30th Avenue and North Julian Street to meet up with someone Aranda knew. He reported that he was driving but before they arrived they switched and Aranda became the driver and he was a passenger.
An independent witness shared statements that backed up the victim's claim that all three men were involved in a struggle when the shooting happened, the affidavit says. It's not clear from the affidavit who actually fired the gun during the struggle.
Aranda was wanted on a warrant for attempted murder, assault and aggravated robbery as a result of the incident. It is not known what charges the second suspect faces because his name is redacted in the documents.
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