BOULDER, Colo. — A man arrested Thursday in connection with the February shooting of a woman who was sleeping outside in Boulder was in custody just days after the shooting on unrelated charges but released on bond, records show.
Boulder police said Jake Prine was located and arrested Thursday around 1 p.m. related to the shooting after a short foot pursuit. He faces charges of first-degree assault, felony menacing, possession of a weapon and aggravated motor vehicle theft.
He's accused of shooting the woman around 10 p.m. on Feb. 27 in the area near the 1300 block of Canyon Boulevard.
When officers arrived they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to her leg. According to police, she had been sleeping outside when she was confronted by the suspect.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Boulder Police Department (BPD), the victim initially reported that the suspect tried to force her awake and got angry when she refused to get up. She reported that Prine threw a shopping cart at her while she was lying down and then shot her and ran away.
During a second interview with police, the victim said that prior to throwing the cart, Prine hit her in the head with the gun and she ran after him.
She reported that there was a confrontation between the two of them and as she attempted to tackle the suspect, she was shot in the leg.
On March 3, a few days after the shooting, Prine was arrested on charges unrelated to the shooting, the affidavit says.
Court records show the March 3 arrest was related to drug charges and he posted bond two days later, on March 5. At the time he was a "person of interest" in the shooting, according to the affidavit.
A month later on April 5, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office contacted BPD after they had arrested a person who claimed to have information related to two shootings that involved Prine. One of them was the incident on Feb. 27. Details about the possible second shooting are unknown at this time.
The inmate said Prine had told him that someone had "pulled a bottle on him" and Prine had no choice but to shoot them, the affidavit says. The inmate also said he had seen photos of the person of interest and recognized the red backpack the person was wearing as belonging to Prine.
He said Prine had "ditched" that backpack because it was "too loud" and the inmate said he provided Prine with a different bag, the affidavit says.
The inmate also reported that when Prine got arrested on March 3 he threw a gun in the water at Eben G. Fine Park. Body camera footage from that arrest shows Prine entering the creek there and placing his left hand in the water. After exiting the creek, he surrendered to police, the affidavit says.
According to the affidavit, once released, Prine removed the gun from the water and it's believed that it ended up in the possession of another man who was arrested on April 5. Tests are being done to confirm it's connected to the shooting.
Detectives do not believe that Prine knew the victim. He's due in court Friday afternoon.
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