ADAMS COUNTY, Colorado — Three Adams County deputies who opened fire on a man wanted for attempted murder as she sat in the passenger seat of a ride share vehicle will not be charged, the district attorney's office announced Thursday.
Derrick Aranda, Jr. was fatally shot during the confrontation with deputies on Aug. 5 in the area of 301 Malley Dr. in Northglenn. A deputy was treated at the hospital for minor injuries as a result of the incident.
Aranda was wanted on a warrant out of Denver related to an attempted homicide that occurred on Oct. 4, 2021, near West 30th Avenue and North Julian Street. That warrant was issued after he failed to appear for a July 2022 court hearing and was suspected of removing an ankle monitor he was required to wear.
Denver's fugitive team learned in early August that Aranda was likely in Adams County and investigators began conducting surveillance. He was eventually tracked to his girlfriend's apartment at 301 Malley Dr. in Northglenn.
According to the DA's decision letter, while doing surveillance in that area, deputies saw someone in a Toyota Prius drive up to the area and turn on its hazards. They speculated that the vehicle belonged to a rideshare service.
A short time later, Aranda's girlfriend came down and got into the backseat of the Prius behind the driver, the letter says. Around the same time, a deputy spotted Aranda on a balcony of an apartment looking around the area. He then walked down toward the Prius.
According to the letter, two deputies made a plan to contact Aranda before he got into the Prius. They exited their vehicles, according to the letter, identified themselves as police and ordered Aranda to the ground. Aranda ignored them, the letter says, and ran toward the Prius and got into the passenger side.
The deputies approached the vehicle and saw Aranda moving from the back seat to the front passenger seat, the letter says. Aranda's girlfriend later told investigators that Aranda told her, "I'm gonna hop in the front seat so if they shoot, you don't get hurt," the letter says.
One deputy said he saw Aranda point the muzzle of a gun toward him from inside the vehicle but did not initially shoot out of concern for others inside the vehicle, the letter says.
That deputy said he saw Aranda drop the weapon on the floorboard and then opened the door hoping that Aranda would surrender, according to the letter. Instead, he said, Aranda picked up the gun and moved toward the front seat, with a gun pointed toward the driver.
The driver, who was working for Uber, later told investigators that Aranda yelled at him to "Go! Go! Go!" while he pointed a gun toward his seat. He reported that around that same time, the deputies fired and struck Aranda, who was attempting to get into the front seat.
A total of three deputies discharged their weapons with each one firing between six and nine times. Aranda was struck multiple times and died from his wounds.
There was no evidence that he fired his weapon at officers, according to the DA's office. None of the deputies were equipped with body-worn cameras at the time of the shooting.
According to the letter, the Uber driver was not shot.
The DA ultimately determined that deputies were justified in their use of force because Aranda did not comply with commands and pointed his loaded weapon at officers and the Uber driver.
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