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Suspect fired 3 or 4 shots at Thornton officer during chase, affidavit says

The officer was attempting to deploy a GPS device onto the suspect's vehicle when the suspect leaned out a window and fired, the document says.

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A man who was shot by a deputy after leading law enforcement on a chase from Thornton all the way to Castle Rock early Wednesday morning repeatedly told his wife that he would not go back to prison.

Kyle Williamson is recovering from his injuries but is expected to face several felony charges. His wife, Hannah Woolard, was arrested and faces charges of accessory to a crime.

An arrest affidavit from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office for Woolard says that around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday officers from Thornton Police, who were in an unmarked car, spotted Woolard and Williamson in a Silverado truck in the area of 88th Avenue and York Street.

The truck had areas that were spray painted and officers suspected a "misuse" of plates. As a result, they suspected it was stolen. However, the affidavit indicated the couple was homeless and living out of the truck and an abandoned RV in Thornton.

Credit: 9NEWS

Officers attempted to follow the couple but while they did, the affidavit says, Williamson doubled back and began following the officers. Williamson ran a red light at 55th Avenue and Pecos Street and then stopped in front of the unmarked patrol car, the affidavit says.

RELATED: Shots fired at officers during pursuit that ended with truck crashing into Castle Rock 7-Eleven

At that location, according to the document, Williamson got out of the truck and began yelling at officers. The officers exited their vehicle, activated their lights, identified themselves, and "challenged" Williamson, the affidavit says.

Williamson got back in his vehicle and fled with the officers following, according to the document. 

On the on-ramp from Interstate 76 to southbound Interstate 25 officers got within 10 feet of Williamson's truck and planned to deploy a GPS device which, if successful, would have allowed them to safely track the vehicle.

However, the affidavit says, as the officer closed in on Williamson he leaned out the driver's side window and fired three or four shots at the officer. Woolard later told investigators that Williamson handed her the gun and asked her to reload it but she couldn't figure out how to do that and handed him back the gun.

She went on to say, according to the affidavit, that Williamson fired to get the police to stop chasing them and said Williamson repeatedly told her he would not go back to prison.

According to the affidavit, Thornton officers pursued the couple until the active pursuit was terminated near I-25 and Ridgegate Parkway. However, the affidavit states that Thornton officers "continued to follow from a distance."

Douglas County deputies pursued the truck at the point until Williamson crashed into a 7-Eleven on Plum Creek Parkway in Castle Rock. A clerk and a customer were inside the store. Both were unharmed, the sheriff's office said. 

Once there, the affidavit says Williamson exited the truck and pointed a handgun at a deputy. That deputy fired at Williamson and "incapacitated" him. According to the sheriff's office, he was expected to survive his injuries.

It's unclear whether Williamson fired his gun at the deputy.

Credit: CDOC
A Department of Corrections photo of Kyle Williamson

Court records indicate that Williamson pleaded guilty in Adams County District Court to child abuse - recklessly causing serious injuries and attempted sexual assault in September 2011. He was sentenced to 14 years for one count and three years for the other.

According to the Colorado Department of Corrections, Williams was released on parole on Jan. 20, 2022.

The deputy who fired shots was put on administrative leave per department policy, the sheriff's office said. The 18th Judicial District's Critical Incident Response team will investigate the shooting. 

RELATED: 12-year-old boy recovering after classmate stabs him in the head

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