An 8th Judicial District Court judge will rule at a later date on whether there is probable cause in the felony charges against the man accused of shooting at two vehicles in a road rage incident last summer, allowing the prosecution more time to prepare an argument in regards to three of the charges.
Justin Winter Vanpelt (Photo courtesy of the Loveland Police Department)Justin Vanpelt, 46, was arrested last summer after the incident and charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference, a class 2 felony; vehicular eluding, a class 5 felony; two counts of illegal discharge of a firearm, a class 5 felony; possession of a weapon as a previous offender, a class 5 felony; as well as three sentence enhancers of violent crime with the use of a weapon
He appeared before Judge Sarah Cure at the Larimer County Justice Center in Fort Collins Wednesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing where lawyers from both sides questioned Loveland Police Department detective Zhenda Mu, who was the lead investigator on the case.
Mu said that that Vanpelt, driving a silver Toyota Sequoia, was originally pulled over by a patrol officer on July 21 when the officer noticed he was driving without license plates. Mu testified that Vanpelt initially stopped but then fled the scene, running a red light and almost hitting another vehicle; he added that the officer was following with his lights and sirens on, but stopped his pursuit after Vanpelt reportedly ran the red light.
It was after this that the first alleged road rage incident occurred near East Eisenhower Boulevard and Hahns Peak Drive, Mu said. Two people in a Jeep Wrangler described Vanpelt as making aggressive gestures at them and yelling something they could not hear, he testified. One of the two told investigators that Vanpelt then pulled out a handgun and fired it at them, with one victim hearing the shot and both feeling an impact on the car.
The victims in the Jeep also took a picture of the aggressor, a man believed to be Vanpelt; that photo was later shared with the public by the LPD during the investigation.
Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Wills presented several images that showed a bullet that was found inside the bumper of the Jeep.
Mu testified that, from there, Vanpelt drove east along Eisenhower before getting onto southbound Interstate 25. Around half an hour later, he said, is when the second incident occurred along the interstate near Dacono. The victim in the second shooting, driving a Ford Explorer, said Vanpelt cut him off and then brake checked him after the Ford driver he threw up his arms in exasperation, Mu testified.
Mu said the victim claimed he saw the driver of the Toyota motioning at him and, as he tried to pass him on the drivers side, the driver, later identified as Vanpelt, pulled out a firearm. Mu said the victim told investigators he put his arm up in a defensive motion, felt something impact his vehicle and he pulled off on the side of the road.
His vehicle was later found to have a flat tire, though no bullet was located.
Vanpelt was arrested in Trinidad after officers there, on a welfare check, found him passed out on top of a motorcycle.
Mu testified that, when he and another detective questioned Vanpelt, he said the day of the incident he was having a very bad day and was having thoughts of suicide. He said that when he was pulled over he had the thought of trying to perform suicide by cop, but was scared of potential consequences for having a firearm despite being a convicted felon.
He went on to admit that he had fired at both vehicles but said that he was intoxicated and did not want to harm anyone, saying that he fired the gun in the air in the second incident, Mu testified.
The Toyota was eventually located in a Colorado State Patrol impound lot and when investigators searched it, they located a shell casing for a .38 caliber round.
During cross-examination, Matthew Morriss, Vanpelt’s attorney, questioned Mu on the connection of the cartridge to the bullet found in the bumper of the Jeep, and noted that the testing had not been completed.
Morriss also pointed out that the damage to the Jeep was on the bottom side of the bumper, meaning the bullet must have come off the roadway and up into the bumper. He also mentioned that the two victims in the Jeep recalled hearing the impact in different spots but that both said they heard it coming from behind them, not in front.
In closing, Wills argued that the evidence provided showed that Vanpelt had fired a weapon at both occupied vehicles, something that met the bar of extreme indifference for attempted murder.
Morriss pushed back, saying the evidence did not show that Vanpelt fired at either vehicle with the intent to kill anyone. He added that, based on testimony, Vanpelt had the opportunity to fire in the direction of where the passengers of were in the vehicle were but did not.
While he could potentially understand an assault or even a lower attempted murder charge being filed, he said he did not believe the charge of attempted murder by extreme indifference was fair in this case.
Wills requested additional time to review cases with similar charges to prepare for an argument in regards to the question of extreme indifference, something Cure initially offered after mentioning she had reviewed several of them in preparation for a separate case she is overseeing.
She rescheduled Vanpelt to appear back in court at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 6.
She also heard a bond argument from both lawyers, with Wills requesting that the bond stay at $1 million cash given the seriousness of the charges and Vanpelt’s criminal history, which includes nine previous felony convictions ranging from robbery to burglary.
Morriss argued that the current bond was “extraordinarily” high and added that Vanpelt was experiencing severe mental health issues and could potentially get into a treatment program if he was released from custody; he requested bond be lowered to $10,000 cash or surety.
Cure noted that the bond was high for a case like this, adding bonds in cases involving homicide typically start at $1 million cash in Larimer County. However, she said the request for $10,000 was “out of the questionhis bond ” and lowered bond to $100,000 cash.
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