DENVER — Denver Police arrested a suspect in connection with the death of a 34-year-old man who was found this week in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Stig Strong, 33, was arrested on charges including murder in the death of Johnathan Douglas.
Just before 7 a.m. Tuesday, Denver Police (DPD) officers responded to the 1200 block of North Mariposa Street for a report of a party (person) down. That's near the intersection of West 13th Avenue and Mariposa Street.
When officers arrived, they found the body of Douglas, who had suffered facial fractures, a number of lacerations and other injuries consistent with blunt force trauma, the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner determined. His pockets were also turned inside out, according to the probable cause statement.
Officers followed blood on the sidewalk which led onto an enclosed porch with the security door open. Police determined it was Douglas' residence, and that it had been burglarized.
Investigators reviewed HALO camera footage and saw a man in the area that appeared to be checking the doors of parked vehicles along Mariposa Street. Later on, the footage also showed what appeared to be the suspect standing over the victim, who was lying on the sidewalk.
Another surveillance camera outside of a nearby business appeared to show the same man about 20 minutes later pulling out a large sum of cash. According to the probable cause statement, the man might have possibly had blood on his hands while he was pulling out the money.
Investigators said information from a warrant on the victim's phone showed it was in the area of 13th and Santa Fe where they found Strong, who matched the description of the man seen on video. He was arrested on unrelated outstanding warrants, according to the probable cause statement.
Strong had a car and house keys that appeared to be the victims, along with cash in his possession when he was taken into custody.
He was arrested on suspicion of the following charges in connection to Douglas' death:
- First-degree murder
- Aggravated robbery
- Second-degree burglary
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or visit metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers works by assigning a code to people who anonymously submit a tip. Information is shared with law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers is notified at the conclusion of the investigation.
From there, an awards committee reviews the information provided and, if the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be notified. Rewards can be collected using the code numbers received when the tip was originally submitted.
> More information about Metro Denver Crime Stoppers can be found here.
> Additional Crime Stoppers bulletins can be found here.
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