PARKER, Colo. — An anonymous tipper came forward with information about a hit-and-run in Parker after learning the victim died because she "did not want that on her conscience," according to an arrest affidavit from the Parker Police Department.
Tory Conyer, 44, was arrested three days after the Aug. 21 crash that killed 49-year-old Jossy Pinto.
Around 8:30 p.m. on that night, a woman reported that she witnessed a man shoplifting from the Walmart at 11101 South Parker Road. According to the affidavit, she and her husband were at the self-checkout area when they saw the man leave the store with a cart full items, including a television.
She reported that a worker yelled after the man. When she got outside, she again saw the man. She said he was with a woman and they were "jamming stuff into the car."
The witness described the vehicle as a white Chevy Monte Carlo with tinted windows. She also provided its license plate number to police. She followed it for some time before losing track of it on northbound South Parker Road, the affidavit says.
Based on the witness descriptions, Parker Police located the vehicle on Parker Road and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver did not stop. They followed the vehicle initially but then turned off their lights and did a U-turn. Not long after, numerous people called 911 to report that the Monte Carlo driver had run a red light at South Parker Road and Lincoln Avenue and struck Pinto, who was crossing the road in the crosswalk.
After the crash, investigators identified the registered owner of the vehicle but determined it was driven by multiple other people on a "routine basis." Based on security footage from the store, the registered owner was ruled out as the person involved.
A day after the crash, a woman who wanted to remain anonymous spoke with a detective. She reported that a person she knew as "Choke" told "her friend" he was shoplifting in Parker and "hit someone." She indicated that she learned through the media that the victim died and explained that she did not want that on her conscience, the affidavit says.
The woman also told the detective that "Choke" planned to "lay low" at an address on Dayton Street in Aurora before skipping town on Aug. 23.
On Aug. 23, Parker Police, Aurora Police and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Impact team went to the address on Dayton Street in an attempt to locate "Choke." Initially, they spotted two men talking near a fence and contacted one of them.
That man was asked about "Choke" and he had seen on the news that he had shoplifted and ran from police, the affidavit says. The men said he did not know where "Choke" was, but later admitted that "Choke" was the man he had been talking with near the fence.
"Choke", who was identified as Conyer by a member of the Aurora Police gang unit, was taken into custody at the location on Dayton Street after a "distraction device" was thrown into the home.
He faces charges of vehicular homicide, failure to remain at the scene (involving death), and reckless driving.
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