AURORA, Colo. — A man wanted in connection with a deadly double stabbing in northwest Aurora was arrested in a small Missouri town, the Aurora Police Department said Tuesday.
Deven Dobbins faces two counts of second-degree murder and is now being held at the Arapahoe County Jail.
On Oct. 16, a passerby notified nearby Aurora patrol officers of two apparent stabbing victims in the 11200 and 11300 blocks of East Colfax Avenue. It's believed the men were stabbed about 8 p.m. that night.
Both were later pronounced dead at the hospital. The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as 58-year-old Otto Washington and 44-year-old Desmond Thomas.
According to an arrest affidavit, responding officers were able to talk with Thomas at the scene despite the fact that he had been stabbed numerous times, including once in his abdomen.
He told the officers that he had been stabbed by a man wearing a tank top, shorts, and a blue hoodie. He was with a woman, and both ran south from the stabbing scene.
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Video from a nearby business captured a fight between the two victims and a man. A woman was also seen in the video.
The man was wearing the same clothing that Thomas had described to officers. Soon after the fight, the man and woman were seen running southbound from the area.
Detectives discussed the case at a shift change, and when they did, a sergeant immediately recognized Dobbins from prior contacts, the affidavit says. That sergeant had spoken to Dobbins on Oct. 6, and the interactions were captured on his body-worn camera. Detectives compared that video to the security video and determined it was likely the same person.
A woman was also with Dobbins on Oct. 6, and in the body-worn camera footage, a backpack was seen on the table matching the one the woman was wearing on the night of the homicide.
Detectives obtained a nationwide warrant for Dobbins' arrest. Aurora Police’s fugitive unit later developed information that Dobbins was in Brookfield, Missouri, and late last month they contacted local law enforcement authorities for help with a search.
Police officers from the Brookfield Police Department, deputies from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, and troopers from the Missouri State Highway Patrol assisted with the search. A Missouri state trooper found Dobbins on Oct. 28 and took him into custody, according to Aurora Police.
“Our law enforcement partners in Brookfield, Linn County, and with the Missouri State Highway Patrol provided amazing support to our investigation and invested many hours searching for Mr. Dobbins,” said Sean Mitchell, lieutenant with Aurora’s Major Crime Homicide Unit. “An alert state trooper assigned to assist with the search located Dobbins walking down the street and arrested him without incident.”
Dobbins returned to Colorado on Nov. 18 and was booked into the Arapahoe County Jail on suspicion of two counts of second-degree murder. No additional suspects are outstanding, APD said.
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