DENVER — Zackary Smith was shot and killed in 2020— more than three years later, Denver Police arrested a suspect in the cold case of his death.
Patrick Lee Apostol, 45, was arrested in connection to Smith's killing and is being held for investigation of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, the Denver Police Department said in a release Friday.
On Sept. 10, 2020, just before 4:00 a.m., police responded to the 1700 blocks of North Quebec and North Quince Streets following a shot spotter detection, according to the release.
When they arrived, officers reportedly found an SUV rolled over in the alley behind the roads — inside was Smith who, according to Apostol's arrest affidavit, was unconscious and unresponsive. The affidavit says police saw a single bullet hole in the vehicle's rear hatch-back door.
Smith was later taken to a hospital, where doctors determined he had been shot in the head, the affidavit says. He later died from his injuries.
In the hours following the shooting, detectives continued to investigate the area, where they located one spent 9mm cartridge casing, according to the document.
The detectives also spoke to people who lived in the area. The affidavit says one of the nearby residences, later found to be Apostol's, had two Ring surveillance systems, one of which faced the alley where Smith was found.
When contacted by detectives, Apostol reportedly said the Ring cameras did not work.
The document says that further investigation showed that Apostol's alley-facing Ring camera had indeed recorded nine videos from the morning of the shooting, all between 3:48 a.m. and 6:25 a.m.
However, four videos from before and after the time of the shooting were deleted from Apostol's account, the affidavit says.
After obtaining a search warrant for Apostol's home, detectives reportedly found an empty Canik gun case that contained paperwork for a "whiteout" 9mm handgun, the same caliber as the single spent casing found in the alley where Smith was shot.
Investigators were able to confirm Apostol bought the missing 9mm Canik gun about six months before the shooting; however, the weapon was never found, the affidavit says. Officers said in the document that they believe this was the murder weapon due to evidence in the alley as well as Smith's autopsy.
In their search of Apostol's home, detectives also took the clothes he wore when they contacted him the morning of the shooting. According to the affidavit, a report from the department's Crime Lab showed the clothes had gunshot residue.
Additionally, the document states that Smith had a "connection" with someone who lived with Apostol.
In the release, the department said a tip from the community also helped identify Apostol as the suspect in this case.
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