DENVER — The man arrested in the fatal shooting of two other men in an apparent road rage incident on Interstate 25 was ordered to be held without bond on Wednesday in Denver County Court.
Stephan Long, 25, was taken into custody after the shooting Tuesday afternoon on the interstate between West Sixth and West Eighth avenues, according to Denver Police. He was being held on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder.
The victims have been identified by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner and Jessica Lucas, the brothers' aunt: Damon Lucas, 22, and Blake Lucas, 21.
Jessica Lucas said they were on their way to a job interview when the shooting happened.
"They were really good kids, and they did not deserve this one bit," Jessica Lucas said outside the Denver courtroom on Wednesday.
According to a probable cause (PC) statement for Long's arrest, Long told a detective that he was driving north on I-25 when a vehicle drove up next to him and someone inside began yelling at him. Long told police that the vehicle then pulled in front of him, cutting him off.
Long said the passenger got out of the vehicle, approached Long, grabbed him and hit him through the open window, according to the PC statement. Long told detectives that he grabbed his gun and shot that man.
Long said that the driver also got out of the vehicle and held onto Long's open window as Long drove away. Long said he also shot that man while on the West 8th Avenue exit, the PC statement says.
Long didn't have any visible injures and didn't call 911 before or after leaving the scene, according to the PC statement.
An off-duty Denver Police detective heard the gunshots while he was driving on I-25. He followed the suspect, who was pulled over in the area of West 13th Avenue and North Meade Street and arrested without further incident, police said.
"While the extent of the confrontation between the two is still under investigation, it appears the suspect pulled out a firearm and fatally shot the victim," police said in a news release.
The northbound lanes of the interstate were closed for several hours due to the investigation into the shooting.
While in court on Wednesday, Long waived his right to an advisement hearing, in addition to being held without bond.
A growing trend
Reports of road rage across Colorado have been up in recent years, according to data provided by the Colorado Department of Public Safety. In 2021, state police received 30,347 reports of road rage.
In 2022, Colorado State Patrol saw 31,760 reports, an increase of 4.5% year over year. 54% of dispatch calls were for aggressive driving.
“It has increased a lot over the years and so we’re seeing a lot of people reporting it more," CSP Master Trooper Gary Cutler said. “There’s so many people that are willing to take that next step that makes it dangerous. If you engage with them and that escalates it has a higher chance of ending in injury or death.”
Cutler said as a trooper who performs traffic stops, even he was surprised at how many drivers are carrying weapons.
“I think people would be amazed at how many people have guns in their cars," he said. "It’s not that they’re looking for any type of trouble with anybody…it’s just that they have them.”
“If people do get to a where they’re actually getting irritated, scared or whatever the reason and they pull that gun out – then we have a big problem,” Cutler said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to use Stephan Long’s preferred spelling of his name.
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