AURORA, Colo — An AK-47-style rifle from a 2018 shooting was returned to the suspect’s wife after a judge dismissed attempted murder charges – and now the same man is accused of wielding that same gun and shooting three people in June, 9NEWS Investigates has learned.
Austin Benson, 35, faces four counts of attempted murder, six counts of first-degree assault, and 13 other charges in shootings that wounded three people in Aurora’s Cherry Creek Racquet Club neighborhood.
He is being held without bail.
The first incident in Douglas County and this summer’s shooting in Aurora bear striking similarities – in both, Benson was accused of driving along a road and randomly shooting at people.
The gun in both cases, law enforcement sources told 9NEWS Investigates, was an AK-47-style semiautomatic rifle.
The two-hour ordeal that unfolded July 2, 2018, along Rampart Range Road ended when a retired police officer pulled his own rifle and shot Benson multiple times.
After he was treated for his injuries, prosecutors filed three counts of attempted first-degree murder and 16 other charges against him.
But the criminal case stalled for more than five years as a succession of doctors concluded that Benson was not mentally competent to stand trial, meaning he could not understand the proceedings or assist in his own defense.
In October 2023, a judge in Douglas County dismissed the case.
That led Douglas County sheriff’s officials to notify Benson that he was entitled to the return of the rifle, five other guns, ammunition and other belongings confiscated as evidence in the case. Benson signed a notarized document giving his wife power of attorney, and she picked up the guns and other property in January, 9NEWS Investigates has learned.
On June 27, Benson is accused of driving through the neighborhood near his own home and randomly shooting three people – Aryn Johnson, 49; a 36-year-old man; and the man's 64-year-old mother.
Sue and Mark Johnson, Aryn Johnson’s parents, expressed frustration that the guns were turned over to Benson’s wife – and that their daughter was wounded by the same rifle used in the 2018 case.
“I'm not going to knock anybody that's responsible gun owners,” Sue Johnson said. “I just am not going to do that, because we own guns. But ours are kept locked up – and people who are deemed incompetent should not have guns.”
Her husband questioned the role of Benson’s wife – she picked up the guns, but it’s not clear how he allegedly took possession of the rifle.
“They didn't make that person be responsible for keeping the guns away from him,” Mark Johnson said. “I'm not sure I understand that, either, because if someone gets a hold of a weapon I own, I think I'll be responsible for whatever they do with it.”
Benson’s wife declined to answer questions when reached by telephone.
Aryn Johnson, after spending more than five weeks on a ventilator, has shown signs of progress recently.
She is breathing on her own and speaking with her family, her mother said, and she has described having feeling in one toe. That has given her parents hope that she will one day walk again.
Benson is due back in court Oct. 1.
Contact 9NEWS investigator Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.