AURORA, Colo. — In July 2018, Douglas County prosecutors charged a man with three counts of attempted murder, alleging that he drove along Rampart Range Road randomly shooting at people.
For more than five years, that case was active – but there was little progress after defense attorneys argued that the man was “incompetent,” the legal term for people who cannot understand court proceedings or assist in their own defense.
The case languished even after the man was accused of attacking nurses and security guards at a Parker hospital, after he was accused of violating the conditions of his bail, and after he was accused of contempt of court.
Finally, after multiple doctors concluded he was not only incompetent but that his mental status could not be restored within the foreseeable future, a judge dismissed the case. The dismissal was required by state law once the judge concluded there was no hope of restoring the man’s competency any time soon.
That was Oct. 26, 2023 – five years and three months after the man was first arrested.
He was free for all but 42 days over that span, according to court records obtained by 9NEWS Investigates.
Now that man, 35-year-old Austin Benson, is again accused of driving along a road and randomly shooting at people, this time in Aurora.
“I find it completely outrageous that he was let go at all,” Adam Lottes, whose brother and mother were two of the victims in last week’s shooting, told 9NEWS.
His 35-year-old brother and 74-year-old mother were driving in their car near their home when they encountered a vehicle coming at them erratically.
“They did a U-turn to come help him because they thought he was suffering from a heart attack behind the wheel,” Adam Lottes said.
As they approached, the man in the car opened fire.
“He blew up my brother's elbow and caused major damage there,” Adam Lottes said. “And then bullets grazed my mom.
“She's got mostly soft tissue wounds. There is a bullet lodged just under her left shoulder. … And she’s got shrapnel in her wrist.”
The third victim, a 50-year-old woman, suffered life-threatening injuries.
Adam Lottes said he was stunned to find out that the suspect wasn’t treated in a mental health facility after the 2018 incident.
“I get we're short on beds, and we're short on evaluators, and the mental health system is taxed,” he said. “But if we talk about mental health so much in this country, why is the infrastructure not there?”
Many records in Benson’s 2018 case are sealed, so it is not entirely clear what kind of treatment he got over the five-plus years. Those documents show that he was evaluated repeatedly on an outpatient basis. They also show that he spent five months in an outpatient restoration education program – though it’s not clear what that entailed.
“I really hope that this time he has crossed the line, and he will stay where he needs to be – either to get help or just to be locked up for good,” Adam Lottes said. “Because now he's clearly a very, very dangerous threat to society.”
Benson is due back in court on Friday for the formal filing of criminal charges.
Contact 9NEWS investigator Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Investigations & Crime