DENVER — A search warrant affidavit reveals a man was on the phone with emergency dispatch when he tracked down his stolen car and fatally shot 12-year-old Elias Armstrong, who was driving the vehicle and was also armed.
The deadly encounter happened Feb. 5 near 10th Avenue and Decatur Street after the man called police to report his Audi Q3 was stolen from the Northfield shopping center.
The search warrant affidavit says the man became “agitated” with police when he was able to track his stolen car using his phone and a GPS tracker on the car.
9NEWS is not naming the 35-year-old man because he has not been charged. The Denver District Attorney’s Office has said it would not pursue charges against him, citing the unlikelihood of conviction.
The man “made threats to protect his property with a weapon and stated he would pull a gun on the suspect,” the search warrant says, indicating his frustration with law enforcement.
After the man filed a report with police, he called dispatch and claimed he traced his vehicle and that he was going to “intercept them” near an apartment complex by 10th and Decatur.
“‘...you guys’ would not stop it earlier, so he was going to stop it right now,” the search warrant says.
The court document reveals the man told dispatch “he had two weapons on him,” and that “the car is in front of him.” The document indicates dispatch could then hear the gunfire over the phone.
“‘...he shot at me and I returned fire,’” the search warrant quotes the man as saying after the shooting.
Police said they believe other occupants ran from the stolen car after the shooting.
9NEWS reached the man over the phone, but he declined to comment on the case.
Denver Police told 9NEWS on Monday that the case remains open.
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