ARVADA, Colo. — More than a year after an Arvada Police officer died in the line of duty, the man charged in his murder faced a jury as opening statements began Wednesday.
Sonny Almanza is the man charged with attempted murder and first-degree murder in the shooting death of Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff. He was killed in the early morning hours of Sept. 11.
Vakoff and another officer had responded to a family disturbance on West 51st Avenue near the intersection with Marshall Street in Arvada. He and another officer tried to break up a fight between family members.
Investigators said the fight started as a custody dispute between Almanza and the mother of his two children.
In court today, prosecutors said Almanza escalated the family fight by bringing a gun and multiple large capacity magazines.
Almanza's attorneys argued the shooting was self-defense.
"Evidence will show that the defendant brought a gun – actually an assault rifle with two large capacity magazines," prosecutors said. "He was defending himself because he thought he was being shot by Jerry Lopez for the Lopez family. And when he walks past Mercedes after she's been shot, he doesn't shoot her. He didn't intend to kill Mercedes Lopez, he just wanted them to back off."
According to an arrest affidavit, Almanza told investigators that he didn't know police officers were present when he started shooting. Almanza is also accused of shooting a woman in the leg during the same incident.
Almanza had previous charges for multiple weapons-related offenses and a previous conviction for first-degree assault, according to court records.
The trial is expected to last a little more than a week.
Vakoff had joined the department in 2019 and was a graduate of Ralston Valley High School in Arvada.
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