COMMERCE CITY, Colo — A man has been convicted of second-degree murder after shooting and killing a burglary suspect in Commerce City in 2021, according to court records.
William Schuette, 23, was found guilty Monday in the fatal shooting of James Martinez, 24, on Feb. 8, 2021 at Haraf Foods Market.
The Commerce City Police Department responded to the shooting. Officers discovered a vehicle that had crashed into several other vehicles nearby, and investigators determined at the time that multiple men were involved in burglarizing the market. Police said at the time that Schuette, a resident of a nearby apartment, told officers he shot at the suspects with a gun.
Schuette, according to an arrest affidavit, told officers "he was scared" after hearing the burglary in the store below him, so he "came out without clothes on and fired his firearm at the vehicle."
Schuette's girlfriend, who was with him at the time of the incident, told officers the two were asleep when they were woken up by a loud alarm and the sound of breaking glass, according to the affidavit.
Officers located and seized a .223 caliber rifle and cartridges consistent with shell casings found at the scene, the affidavit says.
Schuette will be sentenced Oct. 20.
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