LITTLETON, Colo — A Denver man who shot indiscriminately at drivers in Littleton has been sentenced to 30 years in the Department of Corrections.
Theodore Hrdlicka,51, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted first-degree murder - extreme indifference in November of last year, and on Wednesday Arapahoe County District Court Judge Shay Whitaker sentenced him to the maximum amount possible. Other counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
On Aug. 4, 2019, Hrdlicka and his wife, Courtney Hrdlicka, 32, were in their pickup in Littleton. Courtney Hrdlicka was seen kicking a vehicle in traffic before getting into the driver’s seat, as Theodore Hrdlicka fired a handgun at that vehicle. Bullets hit the other car, but no one was injured.
This happened two additional times in a short span in Littleton. All three vehicles were hit by gunfire; luckily none of the six people in the vehicles were injured.
Hrdlicka later said he was drunk and high when he committed the crimes, according to prosecutors. He did have not any previous contact with any of his victims.
Hrdlicka was also linked to similar crimes in Adams County and was previously sentenced to 25 years. That sentence and the one from Arapahoe County will be served concurrently.
“The fact that these acts were similar to his actions in Adams County does not diminish what happened in this case,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Colleen Greer, the prosecutor on the case. “He indiscriminately fired a weapon toward six people here in Arapahoe County. The victims here also deserve justice.”
Hrdlicka pleaded guilty to charges related to an Aug. 5, 2019 incident in Adams County in which he fired shots into another vehicle narrowly missing a young boy.
In that case, he pleaded guilty in September 2021 to an attempted murder charge and was sentenced in October.
The shooting happened as the victim was traveling in a vehicle with his father and grandfather on U.S. 36 in Adams County. They were from out of state and were headed to Estes Park for a family camping trip, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
As they were driving, the family noticed another vehicle driving recklessly and traveling in their direction. They heard gunshots as the truck approached their vehicle.
Moments later the driver, Courtney Hrdlicka, pulled up alongside their car while her husband, Theodore Hrdlicka, stuck his gun out of the passenger-side window and opened fire, according to the DA's office.
Several bullets struck the victim’s vehicle, including one that was inches away from striking the young boy. He was left covered in metal fragments from the shooting.
The Hrdlickas continued on, and Theodore fired additional rounds from his weapon, according to prosecutors.
Two other vehicles were struck during the incident. The Hrdlickas fled the area and were later arrested at a home in unincorporated Adams County.
Last year, Courtney Hrdlicka pleaded guilty to accessory to a crime in Adams County and first-degree assault with a deadly weapon in Arapahoe County. She was sentenced to a total of 10 years in the Department of Corrections.
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