DENVER — A 17-year-old suspect has been charged with attempted murder of a Denver police detective in connection with a Nov. 30 shooting.
The charges were filed against Jeramyah Juma Alford on Monday, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
The incident began on Nov. 30 around S. Parker Road and E. Mississippi Avenue. Around 2:45 p.m., a Denver police detective noticed the vehicle next to him — a red Hyundai SUV — appeared to have been stolen because the driver's side door was punched, according to a probable cause statement. The detective confirmed this by checking the license plate. Several people were inside the car.
The detective noticed that the driver of the car was staring at him as he called other officers for assistance, the statement reads.
Officers in another police vehicle deployed a StarChase GPS device to the rear of the vehicle. Those officers activated their car's emergency lights to stop the suspect vehicle, but the driver eluded officers, the probable cause statement reads.
The detective, as he continued to radio in information, started to follow the car from eight to 10 vehicles behind as it made several turns. The driver eventually turned from Mississippi Avenue onto S. Rifle Street in Aurora, according to a probable cause statement.
The detective made the same turn and saw the Hyundai had stopped in the middle of the street just south of S. Rifle Circle. The detective said he saw a person climb out of the window of the rear passenger side of the car and sit on the window seal of the door.
The detective saw the suspect had a gun, which he allegedly pointed at the detective. The suspect then fired three shots toward the detective from about 50 to 75 feet away, according to a probable cause statement.
The detective was not injured.
The driver then fled through neighborhoods before getting back on Mississippi Avenue, where other Denver police officers began pursuing the car. The vehicle was stopped at 47th Avenue and N. Yosemite Street and five people fled from the car, according to a probable cause statement.
All five were eventually found and taken into custody.
Police found a black Taurus handgun inside a backpack that a suspect had dropped just behind the car, the statement reads.
The only suspect who has been identified in this case is Alford.
One of the other people taken into custody said that his friends came to pick him up and asked him to drive. He said he noticed the ignition was punched and there was no key in the vehicle, according to the probable cause statement.
The person also said Alford was sitting in the rear passenger side seat.
The person admitted to not stopping for police that were pursuing the car.
Police pulled records on the suspect vehicle and found it had been stolen on Nov. 27 from S. Colorado Boulevard, according to a probable cause statement.
Alford was charged with one count of first-degree attempted murder of a peace officer after deliberation, one count of first-degree attempted murder of a peace officer with extreme indifference, one count of prohibited use of a weapon, and one count of possession of a handgun by a juvenile.
His next court hearing is Dec. 22.